Spiked Punch
by Knanaki
Summary: It's finally done. tying up of all loose ends. it started with spiked punch and ends in love. COMPLETE epilogue up. tofuu pairing.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER

This fanfic came purely from my imagination but cannot say the same for the characters. The characters belong to the author/artist of the book Flame of Recca, Nobuyuki Anzai. I apologise if any of the characters may seem out of character(ooc)but I hope you enjoy the fanfic all the same. If any facts are not accurate please feel free to correct me at this address: [Knanaki86@yahoo.com][1]

Thank you for reading my fanfic. This is my first and I sincerely hope it is up to your expectations.

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 

SPIKED PUNCH

Mikagami slowly walked towards the notice board where every one else was gathered around. He had heard the news by word of mouth, but he wanted to see it for himself. Especially when it concerned such a mindless waste of time like an end of year party thrown specially for the final year students, thus making it compulsory for him to go. 

Tokiya cursed mentally. All that he had heard was true.  _Could the school get any dumber coming up with such ridiculous ideas? If I ever find out who suggested such a stupid idea, I'll skin him alive. Well at least we are not forced into bringing dates not that I'll have trouble finding one but…_ Tokiya shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

Tokiya stalked away from the crowd. All he could do was to wait for the dreaded day to come.

~ Afternoon before the Party ~

Mikagami was lying on his bed thinking about the night's party. He was wondering if Recca and the rest of Hokage would be coming. At least they would provide some familiar faces in the crowd. Not like he needed a familiar face, it was just a thought. Just a thought.

The time for the party was drawing near. Mikagami got out of bed and began to dress. His attire consisted of a very fitting black turtleneck long sleeved shirt which emphasized his broad and lean, muscular chest; black pants which were pressed to perfection, which tapered down his legs; to top things off was black coat which he buttoned at his waist. The lack of a tie in his outfit gave him a bit of an informal look, which was still acceptable. Tokiya later brushed his hair till there was not a tangle left in his long flowing, not to mention shimmering, mane before tying it up in a high pony tail with a black rubberband. In short, Tokiya was ready …looking to die for…

Tokiya reached for the bunch of keys which lay on the partition just in front of the main door. He had decided that tonight was the night he used his brand new car. It was a black Ferrari. He looked at it with pride in his eyes. Tokiya was not a very materialistic person but he knew how to appreciate beauty in whatever form it came in. Although he did not always show it in his face, he had seen a few "beauties" in his school but their lack of brains had totally turned him off.

Tokiya sighed at the thought… _Nothing is perfect…_

~ At the Party ~

The school's hall is a big open area with a stage in front and multiple exits at the side and at the back. It is also indoors. Just outside two of the many exits in the hall, is a balcony. Both of which are almost obscured from view.

Tokiya's appearance at any function organized by the school had never gone un-noticed. Therefore there was no reason why his fan club (mostly made up of girls) would have missed his entrance, even if it was rather late.

Tokiya braced himself before he walked in through the main entrance of the school hall.  _Must remember not to use Ensui even in the most desperate of situations…The females though brainless are still innocent…_ Tokiya smirked at the thought wondering to himself if he indeed had that much will power.

The minute Tokiya walked through the front doors, ¾ of the female population in the hall either fainted, shrieked in delight or rushed up to get Tokiya's autograph.

"Mr. Mikagami will you please sign my hanky?"

"Oh you look absolutely dashing in that out fit!"

"Mr. Mikagami will you please dance with me?"

"What do you say we lose the crowd and get a room?"

"You're soooooo handsome! I've had a crush on you since first grade!!!!"

The rest of the girls said something along the same lines.

~ ½ an hour later ~

Mikagami had managed to satisfy most of the fangirls and escape to one of the balconies. Tokiya leaned onto the railing and stared out into the night. Relishing the peace and quiet he managed to get as long as he was on the balcony. It was a clear night and the full moon shone bright in the sky together with a backdrop of a million stars that shone like diamonds fitted onto an ebony velvet cloth. The night breeze seemed more refreshing and cooling than the air-condition which cooled the hall. The draft blew his bangs away from his cerulean eyes and playfully got his prized mane into tangles which he had earlier worked out. Tokiya took a sip of the punch he had been holding but not drinking. He snorted to himself  _The little pipsqueaks actually spiked the punch. Wonder if the school management knew about this but just couldn't be bothered…? Anyhow, better not drink more than I can handle, don't want to end up acting like an idiot._

With that Tokiya proceeded to drink his punch with caution.

After what seemed like ages to Tokiya since the beginning of the party, it was still going strong. However, there was now more romancing going on than before. This was especially so since most of the girls were drunk. Mikagami scanned the crowd inside when suddenly, he thought he saw someone familiar. He took a closer look to confirm his doubts. Yep it was definitely Fuuko. She wore an emerald green evening gown which flowed to the ground. It was a body-hugging outfit which clung to her body at all the right places enhancing her curves. It had a high neckline that reached up to just below her chin. From the high neckline, it cut down exposing her slender shoulders and arms and rounded to the back in a low finish…making it impossible to wear any undergarment of that sort. Tokiya blushed ever so slightly as the thought crossed his mind when he was assessing her attire. Her plum coloured bangs fell over her startling green eyes giving her a very sensuous look, framing her fair face which had a the lightest touch of makeup on, giving her a natural look. For once she was not wearing her headband, this made her look a considerable lot more feminine. On her right hand she wore Fuujin. Ever since she received it from Kage Houshi, she never left home without it. The gown she was wearing also had a mid-thigh slit which exposed her long slender legs to perfection. Her legs were not flabby but toned and well-muscled. The same went for her arms. Tokiya had not realised it yet but he was actually starring in awe at her sudden change in appearance. He suddenly saw the more feminine side to Fuuko. She looked absolutely breath taking. However, one thing marred her otherwise perfect image, she was dead drunk.

Mikagami sighed at the thought… _Fuuko didn't realise the punch was spiked and had a little too much to drink. Just what I need, a drunk Fuuko on my hands…wait a minute…since when did she become my problem…?_

In Fuuko's drunken stupor, she was actually flirting with the guys around her. Not something one would usually see her do if she was in her right state of mind. The guys surrounding Fuuko all had a lustful gleam in their eyes. Mikagami sighed once again. _I'll probably have to bring her home to avoid any unpleasentries. But first I'll finish my punch, Fuuko can wait, I'm sure she can look after herself. _

Mikagami was about to fetch Fuuko out of the hall when one of the fangirls spotted him on the balcony. She rushed over to him and latched herself onto his arm. He took notice of her only when her vice-like grip tightened, cutting off his blood supply. He looked the girl up and down in disgust. She was easily wearing the skimpiest outfit and to top things off she did not even have the figure to compliment it. _Now if it was Fuuko it would be a different matter altogether…_ _Wait a minute, where did that come from?_ Anyway back to the present matter at hand. She was wearing a white see through blouse and skirt combination. The blouse had long sleeves and a wide neckline. She was wearing a black strapless brazier underneath. The skirt had a diagonal frilly hem. It ended somewhere mid-thigh on the right and flowed all the way down to the ground on the left. (Think tango costume). On the whole, her undergarments looked one size too small for her. It was not that she was ugly, but her assets were overly large, like she had them surgically improved. To some guys, she looked like sex incarnate but to Mikagami she was just another annoying fangirl. He greatly disliked it when a girl, or anybody for that matter, tries to get themselves "improved" through unnatural means. He preferred and appreciated natural beauty better.

She soon struck up a conversation while all the time she had his arm locked in a vice-like grip which threatened to cut off his blood circulation. While doing so she took advantage of his closeness to rest her head on his arm and breath in his scent. She knew she wanted him and she was going to get him…tonight. A smirk flickered across her face as she thought of what she would do to him once she had gotten him "vulnerable". 

Mikagami did _not _like the situation he was in. slowly but surely, he pried her fingers off his arm and concentrated on depriving her fingers of their prior position. Mikagami was not careful and had not seen the girl slip something into his drink.

Once he had gotten rid of the fangirl, who had _suddenly_ given up hope, he finished the remaining punch in his glass in one gulp and hurried back into the hall to bring Fuuko home.

He strode into the hall and scanned the area until he came to one dark corner where Fuuko was sandwiched between 2 guys while a third was advancing towards her. The two boys by her side were stroking her arms lovingly and Fuuko in her high state was doing nothing to discourage them. In fact, she was encouraging them by giving each of them a coy smile as she licked her lips and blew kisses while batting her eyelids seductively. The one on the right was starting to kiss her and shoving his tongue into her mouth, while the other began nibbling her ear and licking it as well as the side of her face. However this was not as bad as the third guy. He advanced on Fuuko kneeled between her legs and slowly began massaging her inner thigh with one hand as the other groped her stomach and up. Throughout this shameful act all three of them were grinning from ear to ear with lust written all over their faces.

That was the last straw. Mikagami was indignant on Fuuko's behalf. He could not believe that such scum actually existed in their school, but once again he kept his emotions in check as he calmly walked over to them. Before the minute was up, he had reached the other side of the hall where they were, and was already dealing with the third guy before any more damage was done. Mikagami had pulled the guy away from Fuuko's body by the hair and felled him with one punch. With those two moves, he had actually pulled out a bunch of the guy's hair and broken his nose as well as knocked him out. He gave the other two guys a hard cold stare as they quickly backed away from Fuuko. None of the other partygoers had noticed the commotion in the corner or they _chose_ not to notice especially when an obviously angry Mikagami was involved.

Mikagami had a reputation in the school. He was mostly popular among the females because of his smarts and good looks. However, around the guys, it was for totally different reasons. They knew he was smart but they also knew he was not one to mess around with.

~ Flashback ~

In his first year, Mikagami came into school and was immediately a hot number with the females even though he did not project himself to be a lady's man, quite the opposite in fact with his long hair, slim figure, pale skin and sharp aqua marine eyes. Some of the seniors had heard about this new kid and they were not very happy about it. So they decided they should "fix him up" good and proper and "show him how to be a man". In laymen's terms, they were planning to beat him up.

One day, sometime during mid-term, after school, they cornered him and led him down a small back alley. He had followed them without complaints or questions even with his icy mask, not showing that he was enjoying the prospect of a fight. The seniors were puzzled at his passiveness but soon blamed it on him just being plain stupid. Little did they know that Mikagami was actually the smartest person to pass through their school. Neither did they know that he was actually the master of the sword known as Ensui although he did not require it when he knocked the wind out of them in the back alley and warned them never to bother him again.

Walking into a dark alley with Tokiya Mikagami became undoubtedly the biggest mistake any senior or gang would make after that day.

The next day, Mikagami went to school as per normal without a scratch on himself, much to the surprise and delight of the legions of fangirls. However the three seniors were the ones which did not show up. And still did not until 3 weeks after the incident and they still showed signs of having had their asses kicked. The rest of the gangs and seniors took that as a warning and no one ever bothered Mikagami ever again.

~ End Flashback ~ Back to the present situation…

Mikagami smirked at the memory, especially at how effective it was even up to his last year. The new students also heard about it. Must have left a great impact on the student body. He smirked again… _Oh well, back to the situation at hand._

"C'mon Fuuko, you had too much to drink. I'm taking you home." Fuuko looked at his hand and gave him a silly smile. She made a feeble attempt to stand but failed. Lucky for her, Mikagami had quick reflexes and caught her before she hit the ground. She looked up at his face and grinned. "Oi! Mi-chan! I didn't know you cared!" she said simply before smiling coyly and playing with his coat lapels.  _Of course I care,…wait a minute, I do?…_ Mikagami thought in his head but out loud whispered menacingly to Fuuko, "I'm gonna get you back for this…" he had barely finished his sentence when he had to dodge a kiss Fuuko was trying to give him. He took further precaution to prevent such a thing from happening again by changing his position to her side instead of in front of her. He then put his arm around Fuuko's waist, half-supporting, half-dragging Fuuko to the nearest EXIT sign before she embarrassed the 2 of them.

Once they had exited the hall and gotten to the carpark, he began locating his car and when he did, he escorted her over to the passenger side and helped her in. Tokiya had decided that he would drive her back provided her could get the address out of her. However, while he was contemplating this, the first wave of drowsiness hit him. He quickly shook his head to clear it away. Tokiya got into the driver's seat and asked Fuuko where she lived but all he got in return was an incoherent mumbling from his passenger. He decided that he would first bring her back to his place, let her sleep in the master bedroom and explain things in the next morning. The second wave of drowsiness, this was when he began to suspect something was wrong. However, he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind as he had more pressing matters at hand.

Little did he know that the drive back would be more of a battle to keep Fuuko's hands off him than not getting into an accident. In Fuuko's drunken state, she was hitting on everything within a 5-mile radius but Mikagami still gave her the benefit of the doubt considering the amount of alcohol she had drank.

~ The Drive Back ~

When Tokiya started the engine of the car, Fuuko started out of her slumber. She placed one hand on his shoulder and leaned as much towards him as her seatbelt would allow her. At the same time, her other hand began to play with the buttons on his shirt. Tokiya frowned at her as this was no her normal behavior.  _Now what are you up to?…hmm…this actually feels…Omi gosh! What am I thinking ?!?!_ Quickly he tried to shrug her off, shocking himself when part of him was actually reluctant to do so and was enjoying the kind of attention he was getting from her.

Fuuko grew bolder on realizing his hesitance; her hand traveled down and began massaging his inner thigh. With the initial contact of Fuuko's hand and his inner thigh, Tokiya jumped. He blushed furiously and immediately slapped her hand away. Sure he was used to the attention he got from the fan girls but none of them had ever been this daring!  _O my gawd…what the hell is going on…this is not supposed to happen!_ He quickly increased the speed of his car with the intent of reaching home as fast as he could. Being in the car with a drunk (not to mention horny) Fuuko, was like a canary n a cage with a very "hungry" cobra.

~ End of Drive ~

===Outside the Mikagami Residence===

Tokiya pulled up to the curb outside his house and quickly got out of the car. Panting at the speed of his movements as well as the prospect of almost getting violated by his ex-teammate. He walked over to the passenger side an carefully helped Fuuko out trying his best to keep out of reach while at the same time hold on to her and support her. This was when the third wave of drowsiness hit him. Now his suspicions were confirmed, someone had indeed drugged his punch.  _This is not good…if I find the person who did this…_ Presently, he prayed that he would be able to support the two of them to their respective rooms before collapsing from the effects of the drug.

When the third wave hit him, he had stumbled and banged against Fuuko forcing

her to grab him around the waist to support him and to prevent the both of them from falling over. Fuuko seized the opportunity and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. Tokiya flung his hand over her shoulder grabbed her tightly as he leaned against the main door for support. Clumsily taking out his keys, he opened the and closed the front door together they stumbled towards the master bedroom supporting each other looking more and more like a drunken couple with each passing moment.

Tokiya helped Fuuko into the bed as carefully and as gently as possible in his drugged state, and tried to get to the guestroom or at least the hall before passing out from the effects of the drug. This time the fourth wave hit him throwing him off balance just about the same time as Fuuko reached up from behind and pulled him unto the bed. This time, Tokiya was too tired to protest. Together with the inviting softness of the bed, he nearly dozed off. Suddenly, the realization of a weight atop his abdomen as well as someone unbuttoning his shirt caused him to temporarily snap out of his drowsy state of mind.  _What's going on…?!_ When Tokiya opened his eyes a crack, he was shocked at what he saw…Fuuko was sitting on top of him. She looked rather seductive considering the fact that she was nude from her waist up. Tokiya gawked at her exquisite curves momentarily before quickly looking away with crimson cheeks. What he saw had totally aroused him.

Tokiya may be the most sort after guy in school but that did not mean he was immoral. In addition, the death of his sister had put the concept of love completely out of his mind. This was a formula which practically screamed words like "virgin" and "pure".

Fuuko in her drunken state was shamelessly leading the act on. She leaned down on him so her breasts pressed against his bare chest as she used her hand to turn his face back to face her. She kissed him hungrily and nibbled on his lower lip, encouraging him to open up to her. This he did. Soon they were locked in a passionate kiss. During the time they were kissing, Tokiya shifted his position so he was now on top. Finally, they broke their eons long kiss to breath in each other's scent before they were back at it again. Tokiya had cradled her neck with one hand to allow himself to deepen the kiss while his other hand was on the bed supporting himself shakily as he did not want this to go too far.

Fuuko traced the outline of his muscles on his well-built torso with her fingernail before rubbing her palm on his firm chest slowly relishing the feel of his skin against hers. When she had had enough, her hands darted down to his belt and began to undo his pants in record timing.

At this, Tokiya broke their passionate kiss and grabbed both her hands in his which was previously cradling her neck. He leaned over and whispered into Fuuko's ear, "No, don't. You'll regret this when you wake up." It took immense will power on his part to stop something that felt as good and as right as it did. Just as he had put an end to Fuuko's wild behavior, and as much as he had wanted to get off her to another room, the fifth and final wave hit him. This time there was no escaping the full impact of the drug. He reluctantly collapsed into a deep sleep on top of Fuuko.

Fuuko soon fell into a dreamless slumber with her last waking moment breathing in Tokiya's scent.

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 

Author's rambling…

1) This is the first fanfic I've ever done…if you find it offensive…do forgive…I assure it would get better…I think.

2) Since this is the first time I'm writing a fanfic, I do not have a definite style and may seem a little inconsistent…I hope u'll give me time to correct that…

So this is the end of chapter one…I have until chapter 3 written out but I have yet to type them… my estimate is there will be about 5 to 6 chaps…hope you enjoy the fanfic

   [1]: mailto:Knanaki86@yahoo.com



	2. The Morning After

SPIKED PUNCH: Chap 2…The Morning After…

SPIKED PUNCH: Chap 2…The Morning After…

The subsequent morning, Fuuko was the first to awake, and it was not a pleasant awakening for her. Fuuko sucked in a deep breath in attempt to sooth her throbbing migraine. Her head felt like someone had used it for a basketball match the night before. However, she had awoken to something more unpleasant than her present hangover. A weight, someone's weight, atop her bare body. Fuuko was horrified at the realisation. She was about to open her eyes to find out who was on top of her when she heard a groan. Fuuko couldn't decide what to do, whether to sit up and scream at the male who had taken advantage of her of to feign sleep to buy herself some time to sort things out. Faintly, she heard a very familiar guy's voice curse out loud "Shit!" before he scrambled off her. She knew he thought she was still asleep, so she seized the opportunity to turn in her "sleep" so as to conceal her bareness as much as possible. In her heart she was crying and cursing the cur that did this to her swearing her revenge.

Tokiya groaned as he awoke. The drug had finally worn off. It was a few minutes before he recollected his thoughts of the previous night. When he did, he almost had a heart attack. He cursed and scrambled of a rather indecent Fuuko and was about to rush off to the toilet to get himself more presentable when Fuuko turned in her sleep. Tokiya thought it would be a better idea to keep her warm by pulling the covers over her before leaving the room. And that he did.

When Tokiya came out of the toilet after adjusting his clothes, he went to the hall to read the morning papers, or at least try to. He failed miserably. He would not stop his mind from wondering over the previous night's affairs. He tried suppressing the thought about how right it felt when they were sharing that intimate moment. (Do try to remember, as long as Tokiya was concerned, nothing perverse had happened the night before … because he had restrained himself.) Instead he directed it to the more pressing matters at hand such as how to explain to Fuuko why she was topless in his house in his room. When suddenly…

BOOM!

Something which felt like a thousand knives hit him square in the chest with so much force it caused him to fly backwards, slamming him into the wall. The impact of the force had simultaneously loosened his rubberband causing his hair to fall over his face obscuring it from view as well as knock him out such that the last thing he remembered was the searing pain in his left shoulder.

è è è è è 

When Fuuko heard the door close, she bolt upright on the bed and began to inspect the damage done to her body while fighting the to control the rising anger from within. She was rather surprised to find that her lower undergarment was still intact, deducing from this that whatever took place the night before had not gone very far. However whatever the situation, she was still indignantat what he had done to her. Not really caring who he might be or what explaination he might have, she adjusted her clothes and readied Fuujin for a powerful rage-filled attack. Silently she opened the door which led to the living room, her hand clapsed with Fuujin and took aim at the male who was sitting with his legs crossed and reading the morning papers held up in front of him. This prevented her from seeing who he really was…not like she cared. After what he had done to her…Hot tears found their way to the corners of her green eyes as they flowed afresh. His devil-may-care attitude was getting her riled up. He obviously did not care about how she felt, he was reading the morning papers for crying out loud! Now her tears flowed freely though she was biting back sobs. She wanted to hurt him and she wanted to hurt him bad. She took aim with Fuujin and blasted,…full force. Not caring if the force would kill the unsuspecting male. The impact of the blast sent him flying backwards, contacting with the wall behind with a sickening thud. As he slid down to the floor, he left a trail of blood on the wall undoubtly from the countless wounds the onslaught had caused. Her attack was so swift and silent that he had blacked out without so much as a squeak. But still she had no clue to the identity of her attacker as the force from the blast had loosened the rubberband holding his hair up, causing it to cover his visage making identification near impossible. But then again, who cared?!? Fuuko ran out of the door and down the street. Trying hard to put as much distance between the house and herself before hailing a cab. Even so, as she ran…something at the back of her mind told her that the silver-coloured hair seemed vaguely familiar. However in her distraught state of mind, that train of thought stopped right there as she got into the cab.

Quite a while after fuuko had stormed out of the house, mikagami began to come to. He ached all over but could only blame himself for not foreseeing that such a thing would happen as well as for letting his guard down, so much that he couldn't even sense Fuuko's oncoming attack.so much for trying to be helpful. Next time of it's gonna hurt so much I'd better remind myself not to be such a busybody…wonder if I can stand?He groaned out loud as waves of excruitiating pain coursed through his body as he tried to stand up. Leaning on the blood-stained wall for support, he quickly assessed his injuries and soon came to a conclusion: a dislocated right shoulder,a couple of broken ribs, a deep gash across his left shoulder as well as numerous cuts and bruises all over his torso. Mikagami qiuckly solved the easiest of his injuries, which was the dislocated right shoulder. Before he lost his guts, he rammed his shoulder forcibly into the wall forcing it back into its socket. An act as violent as that caused him to cry out in pain albiet a hoarse one at that. He sucked in a shuderring breath and proceeded to treat his other injuries. When he was done, he surveyed the bloodied wall, looks like it will have to wait till he got back from school. Living alone with such a hectic life did have its disadvantages. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had just sustained a powerful attack from Fuujin at close range no less, and survived! Nevertheless instead of feeling thankful, he felt he felt a sense of dread that hung over him and threatened to overwhelm him. He knew that nomatter how serious his injuries, they did not justify what it seemed like to Fuuko. The more he thought about it the more he wished he had parished in the blast.

…at school…

Throughout all his classes Mikagami was careful not to move unnecessarily as each movement caused a shockwave of pain to hit him. During break, he made a conscious effort to steeer clear of Hokage, choosing the the roof top of the main school building as his selected hideout. Little did he know, 2 minutes into his isolation and he was interupted by a rather upbeat Hokage.

Tokiya was on his favorite rooftop, reading his literature text 'The Merchant of Venice'. Everytime he read the book, he always found himself wondering if women as smart as Portia really existed. It certainly would beat getting banged up good and proper by women who jumped to conclusions,…wrong ones at that! He thought solemnly to himself. He dared himself to move into a more comfortable position but found that such an action brought more discomfort and had to bite back a cry of pain. He was about to go into further analysis of his text when suddenly out of the blue…

BANG!

Recca had just burst in through the door leading to the roof and slammed it behind it with exaggerated effort as though trying to prevent something or someone from coming through. If Tokiya's deduction was correct, Recca was trying in vain to prevent Domon from coming through the door. Less than 5 seconds later, Domon came through the door, literally, sending Recca flying. But with his quick reflexes, Recca managed to land smoothly with a triumphant look plastered to his childish features. The cause of the brawl, judging by the colourful language exchanged in their heated conversation, was that Recca had yet again called Domon a stuffed-ring-nosed-pig. Tokiya shook his head at the scene before him. In his mind he was thinkingkids will always be kids… Out loud he asked in as sarcastic a voice he could muster, " Will the 2 of you never grow up? Why can't you act like civilised adults and talk things over instead of calling each other stupid nicknames?" he punctuated the end of his sentence with an exasperated sigh. It was not turning out to be a good day…

Recca paused in mid-kick, turned around, adopting a rather dignified pose and spook in a fake British Accent, "My, my, aren't we touchy today? You should speak for yourself, fancy insulting others whom have not disturbed you." Relish evident in his voice at the peeved expression he achieved from a worked up Mikagami. However thinking to himself Mikagami seems to be on a rather short fuse today, usually something like that won't get so much as a wink from him. 

" For your information…" was all Mikagami managed to get out before being cut off by the opening of the yet again. This time Fuuko followed by Yanagi stepped into the melee. Yanagi, seeing the angered looks on all the guys' faces, launched into the numerous reasons why they should not break out in another fight. This was directed more to Recca and Domon since she had yet to find out the cause of the dispute between Mikagami and Recca. 

** *

While this was going on in the background, Mikagami carefully observed all of Fuuko's actions. He was slightly startled when he realised that Fuuko was actually eyeing him too. He quickly hid his shock behind his expressionless mask before anyone caught it. It was evident that Fuuko did not know his involvement in the previous night's affairs but he was not intent on her suddenly remembering.

***

While Yanagi was giving her lecture, Recca turned chibi and listened to her every word with rapt interest. Fuuko and Domon both sweatdropped upon seeing this. Mikagami decided to use seize the opportunity where everybody was distracted to try and slip away. Alas! It did not turn out as successful as he hoped it to be. Domon had snuck up behind him and because of his hurry to get off the rooftop ASAP, he had not noticed. Domon slapped him across his left shoulder, Hard. To Domon it was nothing more than a casual greeting especially since he knew it would get Mikagami all worked up, however to Mikagami it felt like pure torture and it took absolute self-restraint to prevent himself from screaming in pain, instead he merely winced. He felt his wound reopen and bleed all over again. With immense will power he straightened up and wiped the pained expression off his face before anyone noticed. He did a swift about-turn and stared Domon down as he felt the blood seeping through his uniform. Domon felt shivers run down his spine as he looked into his eyes, clear cerulean eyes which promised no less than death should he so much as lay a finger on him again. Domon was experiencing Tokiya's famed Death Glare. Once he felt he had drilled the message through Domon's thick skull, he hurriedly excused himself and rushed to the toilet to patch himself up.

Unknown to Tokiya, Fuuko had caught the pained expression on his face when Domon hit him. At first she thought it was one of contempt like it has always been but, it turned out to be genuine, especially when she caught a glimpse of a growing patch of dark brown on his left shoulder against the navy blue of his school uniform. Something which everybody missed…but her. Something was definitely amiss. Quietly, she tailed him trying to keep up with his hurried pace. Upon reaching the toilet, she had to pause and wonder if it was wise to walk right into the guys' toilet? This is definitely not good for my reputation, is Tokiya really worth all this trouble? I'm pretty sure he can handle his own problems but I should still check just in case… 

***

Mikagami walked into the toilet and looked around. There were a few guys already inside. He gave all of them a cold hard stare. Sending a message across that he wanted privacy…and that he will not be denied. Fortunately for them, they got the message and hurried out. As he watched them rush for the door, he found it rather comical and would have laughed at the way they were all pushing and shoving to get out of the toilet if he was not hurting so bad. Instead he allowed himself a small smile. When the last of them had left the toilet, he began to disrobe so he could clean his shoulder wound and redress it. He tried to bite back a gasp of pain and failed. It echoed loudly in the empty toilet. When suddenly, the door burst open and there stood Fuuko as the door closed in slow motion behind her as she let go of it…

***

Fuuko stood outside the guys' toilet with her fingers stroking her chin. She was contemplating swallowing her pride and walking in on all the guys in the toilet including Mikagami, when the toilet door burst open without warning and all the guys who were originally inside the toilet rushed out. Some brushing past her while others nearly knocking her over in their hurry. She stepped out of their way thinking to herself Something's definitely not right. 

At this point in time she burst into the toilet. The first thing she noticed was Mikagami standing in front of a mirror checking his bleeding shoulder the rest of his bare skin was also covered with bruises, cuts and scratches. Unlike her usual reaction which would be to call Yanagi to heal his wounds, she flew into a rage. She recognised the distinct pattern in his injuries. He looked like he had been hit by a blast from her Fuujin. Close range. That together with his silvery mane which was beginning to look very familiar. Just like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces were coming together and they formed a very distressing picture.

" It was you!"

Fuuko was slowly getting over the shock. 

"You perverted bastard!"

Her anger was way past boiling point.

"I'm gonna kill you if it's the last thing I do!"

Not even a leash of steel would have been able to stop Fuuko from doing what she did next.

Fuuko lunged at Mikagami full force and slammed him into the mirror causing it to shatter in his face adding new wounds to the countless he had already sustained. 

Mikagami gasped in shock and in pain. He had not expected her to react so violently and the pain was threatening to overcome him. However this did not compare to the fury which was suddenly building up inside him. How could she suspect him?! How could she accuse him without proper evidence?! He had to defend his name he would not put up with such untrue accusations!

Fuuko realised that she did not have to resort to physical attacks when she had a whole reserve of power from Fuujin to call on. She took a step back and took aim. The part of her mind which could still be reasoned with, could not grasp what was happening, her body was acting with a will of its own. No doubt she was angry, no infuriated with the revelation, she could not belief that Tokiya would do such a thing without a reason, should she give him a chance to explain himself? She hesitated and did not attack immediately. Giving sufficient time to recover. She looked into his eyes to see if perhaps she had made a mistake and she was met with an unrestrained fury. She took a step back, caught off guard at the strong reaction she was receiving.

He was filled with pure untamed rage he looked up at her showing fully what he felt in his eyes. He saw her hesitate and take a step back. There! The opening to retaliate. In three moves, faster than the eye could follow, he was beside her and had already pinned her to the opposite wall. She started struggling to break free of his vice like grip, but to no avail. Mikagami had always been much stronger than he looked often catching opponents off guard because they had underestimated his strength. With deathly calmness, he spoke with a hiss, " How dare you? How dare you make such flimsy accusations with no evidence to back you up?!! Just for once, use your brain and think what happened the night before, think about how big a fool you made of yourself!" Mikagami paused to let his words sink in. As he spoke, he gradually increased his volume till he was finally shouting at her.

Fuuko had finally stopped struggling. Her mind was filled with images of the previous evening, having found the stash of alcohol, being dared to drink two-thirds of the bottle, getting drunk, led to a dark corner with three guys…

It was true! All Mikagami had said was true!! Fuuko just stood there letting the truth sink in, realising the great wrong she had done and the greater wrong she had done Mikagami. She took a step forward and opened her mouth to apologise but …

"Leave…"

His tone was strict bordering on anger which had begun to subside. The single word had caused the floodgates which held the guilt at bay to burst and overflow. She was drowning in guilt. She had hurt him, hurt him physically for something he did not do. She had never done anything as stupid or selfish in her life. Not knowing what else to do, she rushed out. 

She swore she would make it up to him, one way or the other, she had to.

Mikagami now alone in the toilet, allowing himself of a frustrated groan. (Afterall, he was all alone.) Not only had he not managed to treat his wounds he had acquired new ones. The day was not shaping out to be a good one hopefully he would at least be able to make it home today without having to outrun the fan club…

After school…

Tokiya took an excruciatingly slow walk home that day. Giving any onlooker the impression that he was merely strolling and was savoring the scenery however the actual reason was that he was in too much pain to move at his normal past. He had long since discovered that being on the receiving end of a blast from Fuujin at close range was not a very good thing…in fact it was a very bad thing. The thing was the unbelievably thick physics text in his hand did not make things any easier for him. All he wanted at this point in time was to go home, have a refreshing cold shower and sleep for a million years.

As he neared his home, Mikagami suddenly felt the sensation of being followed. He stopped before entering his home and spoke to no one in particular, "Who are you and state your business." Although his tone sounded cool with a resolve to fight if need be, he really doubted he would be able to put up much of a fight in his current state. In a pink blur, Fuuko dismounted the tree she had been hiding in and landed in from of him. "My name is Fuuko Kirisawa and I'm here to make you feel all better again.", came the reply in a sugary sweet voice which could have given any listener cavities. Mikagami was in no mood to get in to a squabble by passing snide remarks, so he let it slip by. Rolling his eyes he turned around and stepped into his house pretending he had not seen or heard Fuuko. He was about to lock her out when Fuuko stopped the door with her right hand, the one armed with Fuujin. "Are you gonna let me in peacefully or do I have to blast your door apart?" she asked calmly expecting a cold stare which would probably have told her that she was not welcomed. Instead she heard Tokiya reply hoarsely but sarcastically, "I could do without the bill for a new door." And he let her in.

The first thing she noticed as she stepped into his house was the dried blood on the wall. Caked and dried; Tokiya's blood. She winced at the ghastly blemish on his wall and asked hesitantly, "Was that…?" and she left it hanging knowing full well that both parties knew what the unspoken question was. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot back at her in a hoarse sarcastic voice, "Gee, how smart of you to realise…"however his sarcastic remark was to go incomplete as he collapsed on the floor due to over exertion and lost of blood. In the blink of an eye, Fuuko was at his side. She attempted to help him up and realised that he was a lot weaker than he was letting on. As she helped him to stand in his semi-conscious state, he leaned heavily on her because his own limbs could not support him. The feeling of guilt came rushing back like a bitter after taste. She supported him as best as she could and half led, half-dragged Tokiya to the nearest bed in the nearest room. Upon reaching it she gently lowered him down and straightened him out. THEN…she realised how big a mistake that was because the blood from his re-opened wounds began to soak into the sheets. Damn now I have to help him wash the sheets too…on top of having to clean the wall…nurse him back to health…this really sucks. This much "Quality" time with Tokiya could be fatal… The highly unwelcomed thought lingered for more than a while as she tried to figure out how to help out the present situation. 

While buried in thought, she suddenly heard a groan from the slumbering figure, one filled with pain that definitely did not mean that he was comfortable. She observed his attempts to solve his own discomfort without offering any help. She realised that he had regained consciousness for quite a while now but had tried not to show it so she would go away because her presence was only adding to his discomfort. One must first realise that Tokiya is a proud being and dislikes it extremely of anyone should see him weak at any point in time. He had pretended to turn in his sleep so he could back face Fuuko and she would not see his face laced with pain but…that was a wrong move to make. He ended up accidentally applying pressure on his already injured shoulder causing waves of white-hot searing pain to course through him forcing him to hiss in agony. Fuuko had to smile. He was trying so hard to preserve what was left of his pride. But to help him she would only shatter it further. Well at least it's for the best…

Fuuko gently placed a hand on Tokiya's good shoulder causing him to lie flat in his back once again. He cracked open an eyelid to see if Fuuko had a smirk plastered to her face. He was pretty sure that she was relishing every moment of his discomfort. Imagine his surprise when he saw that she was not mocking him but wore an expression of sincere concern. Fuuko, knowing full well that Tokiya was not going to appreciate her next move but knew it was all for the best, made it quick. In one smooth action, she unbuttoned his coat, shirt and began to turn him on his side to get to his would. Apparently she was not swift enough for before she could fully unbutton his shirt, he had sat up and shoved her away. 2 simple actions but he was already panting and his world was spinning out of control. Tokiya clutched his head with one hand while supporting himself on the bed with the other. "I know how to take care of myself. I don't need your help…just leave me alone." The harsh words would have deterred any ordinary acquaintance, but not Fuuko. They had been teammates, she knew what to expect and saw it coming a mile away. In as bossy a voice as she could muster, Fuuko began to persuade Tokiya, "Whoever said you had a choice in the matter? In your current state I could force you into anything so you're gonna lie still while I mother you." And quickly added, "C'mon Tokiya it's for your own good!", when she saw his unyielding expression. Cool as ever, his reply was even colder and it froze her, "No, this is just for you to get rid of _your_ guilty conscience." Fuuko abruptly stopped her administrations and looked at him eyes wide with shock and fists clenched in frustration. It sucked big time because he was right on the money. Tokiya would have succeeded in driving her off if he had not fallen back onto the bed from over exertion.

His breathing was laboured and he fought to keep consciousness. Fuuko did not meet with any resistance as she tried once again to assess his injuries and administer first aid to stop the bleeding.

With as little fuss as possible, she began to remove his shirt to expose his upper torso. Scarred and bleeding she winced knowing that her Fuujin had caused the wounds. The worst of the lot was a deep gash on his left shoulder. She rushed for the first aid box she had seen in the hall on the corner table, exactly where Tokiya had left it that morning after using it. The smeared dried blood around the would prevented her from coming to a satisfactory conclusion. She used cotton wool and water to remove the dried blood before bandaging the wound with the bandage found in the first aid box. She then spent the next few moments dressing the rest of the countless wounds he had sustained all over his upper torso.

By the time she was done, she realised that Tokiya had fallen into a fitful slumber as she worked on his torn body. She took a step back to admire her handiwork but observed something else altogether. Her eyes swept over his fallen features. Starting with his face. She noticed the effect his boyish good looks had on her but underlying that was a troubled expression. One what was not seen often, one that was hidden oh-so-well during the day one that was always closely guarded except for now. She looked lower down and learnt why the girls in their school chased after him so fervently. His perfect figure of broad shoulders and slim waist were not the only feature which were drool worthy, something else that no girl in school has ever seen except her probably was his well-defined chest and sculptured abs. Her eyes trailed lower down but there was not much else to see for his school pants hid much, much more…She blushed heatedly as her thoughts began to go wayward…what's wrong with me? Why am I thinking such things? once again she leveled her eyes with his face. His troubled thought showed clearly on his face. The expressionless mask, the cold words that cut, they were all an act ,every one knew, but she never felt its importance until now. In attempt to offer comfort of somesort, she reached out her hand and ruffled his bangs. It had some effect as his expression lightened to a certain extent. It then became crystal to her how much he actually needed someone. Right there and then she made a promise to him and herself, I will be there for you. I will be there when you need me, Tokiya.


	3. Confessions

Chapter 3 : Confessions…

Tokiya woke up with a start. The dream, a product of his subconscious still haunted his conscious being.

A few moments ago…in his dream…

He could see himself, as a child running along the white sandy shores, chasing after the most important person in his life, Mifuyu. Their laughter rang through the air as the sun began to set beyond the horizon. It was a memory. A memory of happier days; days when Mifuyu was alive and days when he was young and carefree. This was the memory which flashed before his teenaged eyes. He stood there silently in a shadowed corner watching, watching silently as the events unfolded before his eyes. Though hidden and unnoticed, he reveled in the emotion that overflowed from the scene. The emotion that had remained, and still is, just out of his reach for the past 9 years. Joy. He began to feel what the child in the memory was feeling as the heavy spell on his heart was lifted and peace overcame him. 

However just as he was beginning to feel lightheaded, there was an abrupt change in the weather, a change for the worse. The skies clouded over with dark gray clouds just swirling with readiness to let loose a violent storm. The brief flashes of lightning and to occasional claps of resounding thunder became more constant and turned more threatening. The young child in the memory began to cry. Unable to comprehend the intensity of the nature's actions the tears just spilled onto his face in a never-ending stream that seemed to grow heavier as the seconds ticked by. Nonetheless he was not alone in his sorrow, Mother Nature sensing his discomfort, poured forth her thunderstorm and let loose a raging tyrant in the sky. The heavy raindrops pelted relentlessly on his small frame, soaking his clothes thoroughly. His pitiful garb made a pathetic attempt of keeping the child warm but failed miserably. There he stood shivering in the rain, tears lost in the rain, the bodily fluid saturated in salt mingled with the fresh rain water only to be diluted to such an extent it could be mistaken for just another raindrop. It was then that the child stopped crying realising with the mind of an adult the symbolism of it all. His tears and the rain drops. The raindrops were like a blanket which covered the tears, like a blanket that masked the truth on the surface from the onlooker. However as the tears and the raindrops merged, the tears were lost forever as its chemical make up was changed by the sheer concentration of the raindrops. It dawned upon him that he was the tears, unique and different, in a certain way, special. However society always had a way of making you change and bend to their collective will absorbing your individuality and making you ordinary and as time went by, the more you lost of yourself and the more you became like them. Yet as quickly as the child had gained his wisdom, he could not, or rather did not know, how to utilise it. 

The frustration built up within him and the storm had in no degree lessened, instead the storm became more than just a storm, together with the coming of the storm was a tsunami of emotions. Gone were the feelings of peace and happiness, these were overtaken by feelings of dread and all that was dark. They began leaching into his soul tainting it black. The long spindly fingers of darkness began to reach out for his soul as though to claim it as their own. As the darkness drew nearer, fear and uncertainty flooded his senses. It was more than the child could bear. Needless to say, whatever the child felt, the watcher would feel too, the only difference would be the intensity of the emotion. When it was happiness, the watcher could only bask in the radiance of the scene before him. However, the emotions that flowed through the thread that connected them this time threatened to overwhelm him. To the watcher, he was feeling the negative emotions tenfold, at least. Although he had daily experience with such feelings, experiencing them tenfold drove him to near breaking point. His mouth flew open in a silent scream. The realisation hit him like a brick wall. He could not speak, he was deprived of sound and relief, there was no outlet for the intense emotions that flowed through him. He could not even call for help, he had to suffer alone. Mirroring the child in the memory, he began to cry. The child in the image before him burst once again into tears howling for comfort as the impure emotions threatened to engulf him and silence his pure soul. As for the watcher, he knew that howling would do him no good so the tears merely slipped unheeded down his cheeks and dropped to the floor unseen and unnoticed. 

The watcher watched on silently to see what would happen next but the next scene only brought more tears to his eyes. Tears of happiness for the child, tears which later dimmed into despair for this was what he saw.

As the child bawled in the rain, tears mixing with the water which fell from the heavens. Mifuyu, his beloved sister, ran to his side to comfort him. As though it was really happening visually, the light which emanated from his late sister chased away the darkness that surrounded the child. He could once again feel from a distance the peace that radiated form her, the security and warmth of her embrace. But it did little to comfort him. The scene only proved to a further extent of how his soul was damned especially now when his source of comfort was taken away form him. Deep within him the knowledge that if he did not find anyone to save him, the darkness would devour him and he would be lost forever. He cried, like he had never cried before in the past 9 long lonely years. 

He was close, oh how close he was to giving up hope, to giving up that last bit of spirit he had left, so intense was his fear that it clouded his senses preventing him from exuding his usual awareness of his surroundings until…..

The watcher felt a familiar warmth radiating from a distance, suddenly he was pulled into a tight embrace. Immediately the darkness that hovered around him dispelled. The tenseness in his muscles began to relax as he melted into the embrace reveling in the warmth that surrounded him now instead of the darkness. Though his tears continued to flow, but they were tears of relief. Relief that caused him to feel light again. He turned to acknowledge the bring-er of his salvation. He turned and looked up to utter his thanks in a coarse whisper, "Thank you, Mifu…," their gazes locked, it was not Mifuyu.

@@@@@

Author's ramblings:

Ok..i've heard the complaints…this is a pretty short chapter but I'm facing a writer's block…and it does have such a nice cliff-hanging I just couldn't waste it…do forgive me…

The next chapter will be a part 2 toConfessions…I'm terribly sorri for the inconvenience caused and I'm sorri all disappointed fans….not like I have any but that's that…do try to catch the next chap…same time same channel! Toodles!!


	4. What now?

Spiked punch chap 4:What now?

Shaking his head lightly to clear the recollections of the recent dream, he began to ponder upon what had just happened. Without realising the soliloquy, he muttered,

"Could it be?…How could I have not realised it…"

Silently, he chuckled bitterly to himself. He knew that he could not afford such emotions in his life only to have them wrenched away against his will. No, he would not stand for another loss like that again.

Mustering as much strength as his weakened body could, he swung his leaded legs over the side of the bed and grit his teeth as he got out of it. Immediately, the excessive movements caused a wave of nausea hit him full force, leaving him with little choice but to make a mad dash for the toilet to relieve himself. As he crouched there frail body bent over, little did he notice another's presence behind him

As she set there in the tub soaking up the warm water, she leaned her head back, placing herself in a full reclining position. The leftover foam from her quickly dissipating bubble bath just barely covered her naked form. She had just spent all afternoon scrubbing out the stubborn crimson stains firmly embedded on Tokiya's wall. Stains that had simply refused to come out. And before that, she had painstakingly nursed every single wound that scarred his perfect torso. She had done so with utmost care of course, herself still reeling from the guilt of being the one who had inflicted them. Yet, she felt that she had no right to rest not after the grave wrong she had committed against him. How could she even call herself his friend if she could not even trust his actions?

Just then, the door the door burst open, she had not locked it before because the lock was spoilt. In a flash of silver, she saw him crouched over, retching his guts out. Quickly, she gathered that he had yet to notice her presence so as quietly as possible she eased herself out of the tub and wrapped an available towel tightly around herself securing the end by tucking it in. She padded softly over to where he was, a little uncomfortable with the fact that all she had on was a short towel that hardly served as adequate clothing, and reassuringly patted his back. Trying her best to ease his discomfort, but knowing full well that there was nothing she could really do.

As he crouched there, a smooth palm gently rubbed his back. The slight pressure really did wonders to soothe his disorientated senses. There was no shock in it really but he just knew that it was that it was Fuuko. Of course, who else could it be, but at the same time it felt like her…immediately putting a halt to that train of thought, he tried to stand but collapsed back onto the floor. He realised that he did not have enough energy to rise. Colouring slightly from the realisation, he bent his head lower still to hide his face. This was when he felt her shift position to help him up. With a swift upward glance, he spied a gentle smile fixed on her lips. There was no mockery in her expression, he even dared himself to believe that she cared. But he knew better. With her help he rose to his feet unsteadily. Mentally he reproached himself as he leaned in heavily on her relying more on her strength than his own to get them back to the master bed. Quietly, he revelled in her comforting presence letting it soothe away his insecurities. Carefully she propped him up against the pillows and he heard her whisper softly,

"I'll go whip something up." Following which she gracefully glided out of the room clad in a fluffy white towel that revealed a little more than what he was comfortable looking at.

Once left to himself, he began to assess his injuries. The last he remembered, the bandages were soaked through and threatening to soil his clothes as well. Imagine his shock when he looked down to see his lean torso clad in white pristine dressings. Then, quite suddenly, slight tremors began to wreck his body. He finally admitted to himself then that the excessive loss of blood due to over taxed injuries and lack of food were finally getting to him. He had not eaten since the night before. He leaned back into the pillows, relishing their cool comfort against his aching body when a random disturbing thought popped right into his head.

"Does Fuuko know how to cook? What if she blows up my kitchen?!" panic began to rise up in him like foul-tasting bile. Just then, a mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air. "Now is this from the neighbour's house or is it a product of my hunger-crazed mind? Because Fuuko definitely couldn't create anything that smells this good even if her life depended on it…"_…but she could if your life depended on it…_his subconscious added on.

He quickly brushed away the odd thought, clearing his mind to focus on what was happening around him and not the products of his hormone crazed adolescent mind. It was a fact that not only did he not believe a word the small irritating voice was saying, but to acknowledge it would be like acknowledging a weakness…_right?_ That was not something he could accept. Once more, he attempted to get out of bed, only to be stopped by a shrill admonishment coming from the now open doorway,

"Don't you dare get out of bed! I'll bring the food to you," then a little more calmly Fuuko, who was now dressed in her usual drab of shorts and a tank top, added," smells good doesn't it?"

"In your dreams monkey! That doesn't smell half edible." He shot back icily. Tokiya would have rather died a thousand deaths than acknowledge her cooking. However, things do not always go the way he plans and this was such an instance because, just then, with impeccable timing, his stomach chose to let out a huge growl, announcing to the world (or anyone who was listening) just how empty it really was. A triumphant smirk found it's way across her lips as Tokiya swore under his breath. 

5 minutes later, she returned with a bowl of home-made stew. Its tantalising aroma filled the entire room and this only served to worsen his hunger pangs. She settled herself in a chair beside his bed and proceeded to feed him, but, feeling like he had had enough humiliation for the day, he skillfully evaded the oncoming utensil and promptly relieved her of the bowl of stew before retrieving the spoon to feed himself. He stared long and hard at the first mouthful hesitantly, hungry as he was, he was not dumb enough to trust anybody's cooking but his own, especially if said person is from team Hokage. He gave the spoon one last suspicious look before emptying its contents into his mouth. All the while he had prepared himself for a foul tasting shock, but he was pleasantly surprised; it tasted pretty darn good! Still, refusing to give her any credit for it, he muttered,

"It's barely edible, but coming from a monkey brain like you, I suppose it's a great achievement." The corners of her mouth lifted to form a bright smile. Although the statement may not have sounded like much, she knew from experience that that was Tokiya's brand of compliments. She continued to smile as she observed him consume his meal. It was then that she noticed something unusual. Out of all the times she had witnessed Tokiya eating (which was very rare in itself), he always ate with such poise and etiquette. This time however, he was near shovelling his food down! He must be famished to throw all sense of image to the wind, especially in front of her. When he had finished eating, she noticed that a spot of brown sauce had found its way to his cheek. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she reached forward to cup his pale face and gently wipe off the offensive speck before bringing it back to her own lips. She then ran her soft pink tongue over her thumb to taste the sauce. Closing her eyes for a bit, she concentrated on its texture, flavour, then said out loud,

"I'd say it tastes better than you give it credit for." But the only "answer" she got was an unintelligible murmur before catching a tinge of red as Tokiya turned his face away from her. That one sensuous move was enough to cause anybody to blush, needless to say, Tokiya was not spared as well. Fuuko being Fuuko was genuinely puzzled by the turn of events decided to change the subject and address the question that had been on her mind since the last ten minutes or so.

"Uh, by the way, when was he last time you ate?" It was a moment before she heard a cold indifferent voice reply,

"Not since the night before." There was a poignant pause during which neither felt comfortable followed by a simultaneous decision to break the silence,

"Er… so…" was her feeble attempt when he cut in none-too-gently,

"Can you leave?" his voice bordering on irritation. Already beginning to feel uncomfortable in his intimidating presence, she gratefully seized the opportunity to leave the room. With an exaggerated effort, she tiptoed out of the room, bowl and spoon tightly clasped in one hand, closing the door soundlessly behind her. Alone once more, he slid down into the sheets and pulled them all the way up to his chin before snuggling deeper into the covers. He felt strangely cold in his own air-conditioned room, but he had absolutely no desire to adjust the temperature, the freezing temperatures served as a reminder of himself or rather his former self. Silvery bangs falling over his countenance and obscuring his vision irritated him a great deal. Closing his eyes he brushed them back with one hand. In his mind he ran through the events of recent years, like flipping through a photo album of watching old re-runs of family films. 

His first glimpse of Yanagi and the hope it brought back to his deadened heart, dashed immediately and replaced with disappointment coupled with pangs of jealousy when he found out that for all his efforts her heart only had place for one, Recca. His initial abhorrence of Team Hokage and his impression of them as nothing more than primates held fast, at first. A ghost of a smile graced his slender lips as he recalled the many instances thereafter during the tournament where bit by bit he learned to respect them, albeit quietly. For their resilience in the heat of battle as well as their determination to overcome the odds…together…and they never failed to include him whether in their annual gatherings or random outings; no matter how hard he tried to sever ties with them, they always remembered him. Until finally, he gave in and began to adapt to their constant appearances in his day to day life and take their outlandish greetings and mind-boggling antics in stride. From time to time he even participated in their activities but mostly for stress-relief. He had not realised it then, but he did now. His consorting with Team Hokage had taught him many things. Things he could not possibly have learned else where. Intangible qualities of respect, friendship, loyalty and now…_did he dare admit it?…_Love. he let the thought linger as the shifting images of Yanagi, Recca, Koganei, Ganko, Fuuko and even that dumb lummox Domon, play across his mind. At last he fell into a deep dreamless slumber. With a full belly of hot stew and pleasant memories caressing his mind, who could resist such bliss?

Author's ramblings:

1)I'm really sorry about taking so long before updating…the truth of the matter is I have been doing some serious studying for my upcoming exams namely my o levels, I'll try to up date more frequently come 22nd November. 

2) I really want to thank all the people who have reviewed my fic and made it such a pleasure to write for you all. You have no idea how much this actually means to me. I have read many fics and I am more than sure that the fic that I have written does not at all deserve the amount of praise that you have given it. Thus I must repeat myself once again, thank you very much.

3) I regrettably have to inform all of you that I have mixed up my chapter sequencing and since I will not rest until I have done a decent revamp of the highly-embarrassing-and-below-standard first chapter, I have decided that once my exams are over I will remove the entire fic so far and re-do it. If you guys think it's good so far, you have no idea what I have in stored for you.

*) just a little teaser to Raiha fans out there…Kurei, Raiha and a few selected Uruha members will be making an appearance later on…and since I promised this will be a tokiya-fuuko fic…it's up to you to guess what will happen…^_^

4) Also to those who really like my writing style (not that I 'd dare to dream there are any of you out there) I'll be releasing an original fic in December. It's a joint project with a school mate of mine. Not at all related to Flame of Recca sadly but lots of magic and fantasy and dragons and the like involved do try to catch! ( heh heh heh I'd give you the title but I haven't thought of one yet! But rest assured I've though to the story more than adequately…^_^)

@Once more thanx you guyz for your support and praises and reviews and words of encouragement and everything else…I really appreciate it and I really love you all!!!@


	5. Trouble Starts

Spiked punch chapter 5: Trouble starts

She closed and locked the door behind her as she stepped out of the Mikagami residence. It was a well known fact that the last living descendant of the Mikagami lineage was male, so who was she? Fuuko Kirisawa: former teammate of Mikagami Tokiya during the Dark Martial Arts Competition, also known as Ura Batou Satsujin; wielder of the madougu Fuujin and recently responsible for inflicting severe damage upon said teammate. Of course it was intentional, yet at the same time it was the result of a major misunderstanding. Three days have passed since the unfortunate incident, Mikagami is now confined to bed rest and Fuuko in charge of retrieving assignments form school for him and atoning for her grim error by running the household for the time being, much to his displeasure. The acute pain caused by guilt has now reduced itself to a dull throbbing awareness at the back of her mind but has by no means left her in peace.

Slipping the key that did not belong to her into the side pocket of her dark pink school skirt, she bent down to reach for her brown sling bag before slinging it over her shoulder. She gave a grunt of annoyance as the bag strap cut into her shoulder. _Damn Tokiya…why does his damn thesis have to be so damn long?!…_Grudgingly she trudged to school with the added weight weighing down on her delicate shoulder. _This is definitely going to leave a mark…_

The sun was shining brightly high in the sky spreading its warm rays over the urban landscape. It was not dreadfully hot but pleasantly warm instead, as it chased away the frigid temperatures of the night. It was still considerably early, about six o'clock in the morning. Prior to the misunderstanding between Mikagami and herself, she barely made it to school on time, always bursting through the school gates exactly a second before the bell rang following which entering the classroom just after the teacher stepped in. The past few days however have been a real chore rising by five in the morning to make breakfast for and to check on Mikagami. Today was no different. He had strength to walk around the house nowadays but it was still better for him to stay put. She did not want to risk him reopening any of the wounds that had just closed, so she brought him breakfast in bed. He was still sound asleep with the sheets twisted tightly around his slim waist and his loose night shirt hanging half open to expose a pale chest bound in bandages. His rubber band had come loose during the night leaving his silken silver mane to fan out of the pillow that cradled his head. She remembered that he looked like a picture of innocence, absolutely breathtaking, which resulted in her nearly dropping the tray, but he was also frowning and mumbling in his sleep. She had put the tray of food on the bedside table claimed his work to be submitted that day from the study table and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She felt she had no right to intrude on his privacy like that, waltzing into his room as an when she needed to, seeing things that were not meant for her eyes. Which is also why she made her trips to his room short and seldom, giving him as much space as she knew he would like to have. Her presence in his home already brought him great discomfort, she should not make herself any less welcomed.

She slide open the door to her classroom and found that she was the earliest to arrive, an occurrence so rare she could scarce recall the last time it happened. Plodding over to her designated seat, she heaved her school bag onto the table allowing it to land with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the empty classroom. Feeling the slight need to relieve herself, she made her way to the ladies. When she returned she noticed that another one of her classmates had arrived. Ayanami Misato, a demure bespectacled girl with soft baby blue shoulder length hair,

"O-ohayo, Fuuko-chan!" she stammered looking cheerful with a slight blush spreading across her cheek.

"Oha, Misato-chan! I didn't know you came to school so early…?"

"Well that's because you are not usually early yourself, if you don't mind me saying that is…" she uttered timidly.

"Sou ka? Well that's true isn't it!" Fuuko let out a cheery laugh, before reaching for her bag to retrieve Mikagami's thesis.

"Ano…what's that? I didn't know we had that much homework…" 

"Oh! You mean this? It's not mine, it's Mikagami's thesis…" but she was cut off before she could finish her answer.

"Eh?! This is Mikagami-sempai's work? What's it doing with you?" a rather flushed Misato asked Fuuko 

"Well, as you know Mikagami's been missing in action for a few days now," at this Misato nodded her head fervently, "and I've been in charge of collecting and handing up homework on his behalf for some time now." "Why do you ask? You have a crush on him or something? By the way, your face is beet-red, is there something wrong?" Fuuko questioned deliberately, with one eyebrow and one corner of her mouth raised in a knowing smirk.

"Err…well of course I like him…but so does everybody else!" she defended herself feebly. Before trying to turn the tables on Fuuko by questioning her back,

"Surely Fuuko-chan must have somebody who holds the reigns to your heart as well!" now it was Fuuko's turn to blush. Indeed, someone does 'hold the reigns to her heart' , as Misato so quaintly put it. She instantly felt like some star-crossed lover in a romantic Shakespearean play. Her other half is part of the enemy, part of Uruha, a certain stormy-eyed ninja who holds the darker counterpart modougu to her own, the Raijin, God of Thunder. Of course she could not tell Misato any of this so she merely nodded her head shyly. Misato's eyes grew as wide as saucers when she witnessed a beautiful rose-red hue colour Fuuko's cheeks.

" Oh my, I'm right! Who is it? Ohhh! Wait! Let me guess! Let me guess!" Misato cried enthusiastically.

"Do I know him? I mean is he from this school?

Fuuko shook her head slowly.

"Right. That's what you say. Nevermind let's move to details, is he tall?"

"Well I suppose so…"

"Does he have long beautiful hair?"

"That was very specific but yes, he has long beautiful hair." Fuuko giggled school-girlishly while over pronouncing the adjective 'beautiful'

"Is he mysterious? Is that what attracts you to him?" Misato asked smilingly, seeming to have calmed down a little.

"Extremely, and yes that is what attracts me to him…it's this insatiable thirst to know more about him, all about him…" Fuuko trailed off her blush deepening into a deeper red. _Darn…I should watch my words more carefully…shouldn't reveal too much…_

"Wow! I didn't know you were this emotionally involved, but I still want to know more. Last question, okay?" she reassured when Fuuko began to look panicked, " Erm…I know! Does he have one of those great broad-shouldered-slim-waist physiques?" Misato's eyes misted over and she looked dreamily into the distance apparently trying hard to picture Fuuko's mystery man, swooning slightly.

"Well you could say so. I know for a fact that he goes for constant gruelling training, so even though I've never really seen his physique close-up, I'm pretty sure he has one of those." Blushing slightly from the rather embarrassing question. Quickly without giving Misato time to forget her promise that that was to be the last question, Fuuko interjected,

"Well students are beginning to file in so I think we should stop this discussion to save ourselves some face, besides I need to hand this up before the bell rings." She said gesturing to the thesis.

Still blushing heatedly over the discussion she just shared with Misato, Fuuko skipped out of the classroom with her head bowed so nobody else would see her blush. Pity she did not choose to walk instead, or she would have heard the soft click of a tape recorder being stopped and a cruel smile spread across Misato's child-like face giving it a sudden contrived maturity. Under her breath she commended herself, " I should have joined the drama club instead of being the editor for the school magazine." Chuckling slightly, " This plus a few photos I took over the last week will be worth a lot to some people, pity it's not for sale cause I have a score to settle, Fuuko, you sly little bitch…"

~Flashback~

My first day at the neighbourhood high school as a transfer student, still a rookie, still unversed in the way of the school, unfamiliar with the Do's and the Don'ts. Oh! The ignorance of a greenhorn, afterall they do say that ignorance is bliss, but being ignorant is dangerous, they almost never remember to tell you the last part. They believe heuristic development is best for young budding potentials. Yah right! What a load of bull!

That first day's experience was carved like a permanent scar in my mind. It had all happened so fast, like most things do, first I was standing in the aisle puzzling over which locker was mine and trying so hard to overcome my nerves and remember what the code to that particular locker was. When suddenly, the multitudes that made up the student body parted like the Red Sea, being the diminutive first year student I was, it was a little hard to see what exactly was going on. However, I always had an inquisitive mind, and it was this same mind that drove me, against my better judgement, to elbow my way to the front. There I saw an oddly handsome female stride down the hallway. She had a spiked aura about her that screamed the message, "Touch me and you die". This was also echoed in the fashionably untidy way she wore her uniform. With her un-ironed white shirt tucked out and her dirt brown coat-jacket worn to a snug fit, she still looked good. Her locks of deep unruly purple were gathered together in a loosely tied ponytail. Her hands, she had hidden deep within the two side pockets of her school skirt of the same brown. Being a transfer student, I did not know much back then but I was smart enough to know that it would be wise to stay out of her way. But I guess wisdom always abandons me at the most inopportune times. At that moment, I recall being captivated by her gorgeous green eyes such that I was leaning maybe a little too far out, but definitely not enough to get myself into trouble. I know I was pushed, maybe it was an accident maybe some idiot thought it would be fun to watch some poor fool get beaten up. Whichever it was, that was what I got, beaten up. After the shove from behind, I fell crashing face first into her back. She immediately whirled on me, her green eyes gleaming with an insane amusement. I recollect being so scared I was shaking from head to foot. I had begged forgiveness from my prone position on the floor, but she would not listen. She was smirking at me. Before I knew it, she had hauled me up by my collar with one hand and in one fluid motion landed a punch on my cheek. I still recall the pain that exploded in my left cheek when her fist connected with my cheekbone. The force of her attack had thrown me backwards slamming my body against the wall. I stood there leaning against the wall unmoving when three darts flew past the corner of my blurred vision pinning my hair to the wall. I sucked in a breath in shock. Thank god I did not move. She let out a derisive laugh before moving on. The crowd dispersed later on and I was left to untangle myself by myself. Humiliated and hurt, I know I should be after the bastard who pushed me but I feel the one who has wronged me the most is still her, Kirisawa Fuuko.

~End Flashback~

I snort and thought to myself…_once a bitch, always a bitch…_then I realised that as I reminisced over that relatively painful memory I had been clutching the tape recorder dangerously tightly, at once I released my grip. _I can't damage you now, I still have need for you…Fuuko will pay, by the end of today she would pay._

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully with the exception of one curious fact. She had not seen Misato since their discussion that morning. In fact, Misato did not even seem to have even made it to school, it was like she was never there at all. Her bags and books were missing by the time Fuuko returned to class. It was the last period before morning break and to Fuuko, time seemed to crawl on by. She was sitting in her seat counting down the minutes before the bell rang and she was free to see her friends at their usual meeting place, the back of the canteen. However, to pass time now, she let her mind wander back to the days of UBS. Especially the day when she witnessed Raiha's fight against Noroi. His moves were fluid and smooth. He struck with accuracy and intent in bold powerful moves faster than the eye could follow sometimes._ Just like his element…thunder._ He was also very unpredictable. She felt terribly cheated that it was only at the last minute that she found out where his true loyalties lay. All the while he had been teaching her how to improve her martial arts, how to calm herself, he even saved her from certain death once. The fact that he was actually Kurei's right hand man came as a real blow to her, but still she could not bring herself to think of him as an enemy, their enemy therefore her enemy. If she had known earlier, perhaps she would have been able to put an end to this infatuation she had with him, but then again, she might not have been able to resist his charms even if she knew his background sooner. Besides, did he not repeat several times that they were fated? But fated in what way? _I wonder…_

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the scraping of chairs against the floor. The long-awaited bell had rung without her even realising. No matter, she could still get to the canteen before the others. Knowing Recca, he would wait for his Hime, Yanagi, and knowing Yanagi, she would take her time getting ready. As for Domon, well Domon was always late regardless of the occasion. The other exception would have been Mikagami if he were here. He always arrived on the dot, the exact opposite of Domon, so damn perfect it was infuriating sometimes.

Before she knew it, break had come to pass. It was eventful but yet boring, musing yet mundane. She always enjoyed their company but they also always seemed to be doing the same thing. Either way, it was time to head on back to class. The four of them split at the junction of Yanagi's class. Once she was on her own, Fuuko felt a prickly sensation on the back of her neck. Like as though she was being watched. She brushed it off immediately. With the UBS over who would want to target her? Besides it was in the middle of a school day, they did not have a chance to attack, right? Still try as she could, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. As she rounded the corner, she came to the famous section of the school called the school gossip corner. It was a narrow path with a notice board of pinup put up by the schools publishing committee on one wall and on the other side was a cosy little room which aired interesting clips of school and advertised the upcoming events in the school's calendar. Most of the time this strip of path just in front of her classroom would be deserted. But today it was packed, making it very difficult to move at all. With traffic at a standstill, she decided to investigate just what all the hustle and bustle was about. Slowly but surely she made her way over to the notice board, all the time never took her eyes off it and never stopped wondering what all this could be about. When she finally positioned herself near the front of the notice board, she tip-toed to got a better look above the heads of the taller people in front of her. 

She nearly screamed in horror. There on the notice board were very misleading photos of herself and Mikagami, in which both of whom were caught in very compromising positions. There was one where she had tried to kiss Mikagami in her drunken state at the recent party, where Mikagami had his arm slipped round her waist to support her and she was leaning in fully on him with her mouth very close to his. Another was the two of them at Mikagami's front door both hanging on to each other in an intimate embrace while leaning on the front door of his house looking very much like a couple. Especially with the shadows and the lighting hiding and showing what should not be seen and what should. Yet another two showed Fuuko going to and leaving Mikagami's house on another day in her school uniform, implying that she had stayed the night there with the corresponding dates printed at the bottom of the photographs.

Then she heard comments from behind her that made her skin crawl.

"Well! Now we know why Mikagami-_sempai_ has been playing truant! Must be because he's too _exhausted_ from the previous _night's affairs_!"

"Man! He must be getting it good! I wish I had some of that babe!"

"Oh Blow! I should have gotten first dibs at Mikagami-sempai not some low-life slut like her!"

" Do you think they really did it? Or did she just make him feel good? Damn I wish I had a chick like that who made me feel gooooood…"

They were all laughing and taunting her and there was nothing she could do to defend herself. The photos did not lie, but they were not truths either. She felt so helpless! They are Laughing! They are still laughing, at her! She clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head violently as if that would block out the sounds and drown the mockery. Tears trickled from her eyes, her jaw thrown open in a silent scream. She bowed her head low so nobody would see her tear-stained face.

~Meanwhile~(Yanagi's classroom)

"Hime! Do you have anywhere to go after school today? I was thinking about checking out the new funfair set up recently. It's just two blocks from your place. Wanna go?" Recca asked enthusiastically.

" Sure! That's a great idea Recca-kun! Then we can invite Mikagami-sempai and Domon can come too!" Yanagi replied with equal enthusiasm. This was when Domon chose to cut in,

" Yeah! Then we can invite Fuuko! It'll be just like a double date and a chaperone!" Domon began fantasising about the possibility of going out with Fuuko on a real date

" Wow! 'Chaperone' that's a big word for you Domon!" Recca jested hoping to get Domon riled up, and he did not even have to wait long.

" Why you little…" A fight was about to ensue when they were interrupted rather rudely.

"Hey you there! Is that Fuuko girl that slut with purple hair and tacky bracelet?"

All three whirled around in shock to look towards the source of the haughty voice that spoke so insultingly of Fuuko. Recca had his teeth clenched in anger, he would not hear of anybody speaking of his childhood friend in such an ill-mannered way. Through clenched teeth he asked, trying hard to keep his temper in check, 

"What. Did. You. Say?" at this Yanagi who had frown crinkling her brow asked in a confused tone,

"Why would you describe her as such?" while saying this she laid a calming hand on Recca's arm hoping that her gentle touch would calm him down a little. Domon was just too indignant on Fuuko's behalf to speak.

The same haughty voice chose to reply with its person wearing a smug smile on her face,

"Why? Didn't you know? Don't you ever visit the Gossip Corner? Well let me enlighten you poor, poor uninformed children. Your dear Fuuko-chan has been caught red-handed doing some very, very suggestive things to our poor Mikagami-sempai. Things like touching him and even, would you are believe it? Sleeping with him! She's a slut!" 

She spoke with such disgust and sarcasm whenever she mentioned Fuuko's name of supposed actions. She then threw her head back and gave a hearty laugh before a sudden 

SMACK!

She held her cheek in shock. The weak, back-boneless brown-haired girl had slapped her. Just what is going on?!

"Don't you dare speak of Fuuko-chan like that ever again. She will never be like one of you." Yanagi spoke with a steady unfaltering tone and stared directly into the offending female's eyes. Next in a very commanding voice she spoke to Recca and Domon,

"Quick, we must hurry to the Gossip Corner immediately. Fuuko-chan has to pass that area in order to get back to class. We must make sure she's okay and we must resolve this ridiculous issue quickly!"

With a nod from both boys, the threesome left the classroom and hurriedly made their way to the Gossip Corner.

~At the Gossip Corner~

She could not take it anymore. The lewd comments flying all around her, about her. The lies, and her inability to do anything about them. She could not withstand it anymore. She let out a deafening scream that ringed throughout the entire block and silenced the hallway in an instant. She then elbowed her way past he crowd to the nearest exit. She left immediately. She did not even take her belongings from the classroom, she just left, running as fast as her devastation would allow her to run. She did not even hear the shouts of her friends. She just ran, ran where her legs would take her.

They were just rounding the corner when they heard an ear-piercing scream, that sounded like Fuuko's. They immediately rounded the corner to see Fuuko bolting for the nearest exit. Yanagi and Domon called after her but the crowd's refusal to budge hindered their reaching her and once she was clear of the crowd herself, she moved like the wind making it impossible for them to catch her, after all she was just like her element, wind, her Madougu, Fuujin.

Recca first turned to look at the notice board. Those who were in his line of vision immediately moved out of the way. They all knew better than to anger Hanabishi Recca, the top fighter in their school. Even though Fuuko was second only to Recca, because she was a female, they disregarded her fighting capabilities. He frowned and gave a feral growl, not liking what he saw. Without looking at Domon, he said in a dangerously soft tone,

"Domon take that rubbish down now."

" With pleasure!" was the immediate reply. 

Cracking his knuckles first, he punched the glass of the notice board not caring if he got cut. It shattered without the slightest resistance spraying the onlookers with little shards that were too blunt to inflict damage. With the glass gone, he put his had into the notice board and ripped out the incriminating photos and ripped them into shreds.

Satisfied with Domon's handling of the situation, Recca turned attention to the other display. It was merely a recording equipment attached to a set of headphones. Recca looked directly at the poor soul standing next to the contraption and commanded him to unplug the headphones and push play. Withouth having to wait too long, they heard a regurgitated version of the conversation Fuuko had with Misato that morning which Fuuko had told them about during break. Disgusted with the recorded conversation, he threw two mini explosives at it which exploded on impact reducing the recorder to no more than dust and leaving a crater in the wall. Feeling the need to prevent such things from happening in the future, he left the people there with a warning,

"If I ever catch any of you targeting, Yanagi, Domon, Fuuko, Koganei and even Mikagami, I will make sure you regret you ever picked a fight with us. Is that clear?" he received ill-coordinated nods for those present.

The three of them than trooped into Fuuko's classroom to gather up her belongings and look for her to make sure she was all right. Suddenly school did not seem so important anymore, just their friendship.

~Fuuko…~

She had been running for some time now, putting absolutely no thought behind where she was headed, she felt a tad better. Just the blankness of mind that comes after exhaustion takes over. But that vanished when she looked up from the pavement. 

She was right outside the Mikagami residence, again.

Author's rambling:

Hi people! My exams are over and I feel free as a bird! Whoopieeee! Well hope you pple like the chapter. However this time I feel I have to make one thing clear…I would really really really appreciate it if you guys give me constructive criticisms instead of just reviews. I mean I really wanna improve my writing style and I won't be able to do that unless you guys tell me where I've gone wrong! Tell me what you feel is wrong…you don't even have to give me specifics…just general stuff like his character ooc or smth like that and I'll promise I'll keep those in mind when I write the next chappie…Thanx!( I am going to go as far as to accept flames as well this time round…thank you for reading!!!)


	6. Over a Meal

Spiked Punch chapter 6: Over a Meal

When he woke up a whole hour later than usual, practically scrambling off his bed in a frantic search for his school uniform and books when a sudden pain in his chest brought him sharply back to reality. Immediately, he held onto the bed for support with one hand while his other he put over the source of his discomfort. The pain quickly dissipated; it seemed that his sudden movement had jarred his two broken ribs causing them to shift, causing him to experience a fleeting white hot pain in his upper torso. 

He scanned the room for a bit with his sleep encrusted eyes and spotted at the far corner of the room a silver tray gleaming in the sunlight, supporting what seemed vaguely recognisable to him as 'breakfast'…prepared by someone else. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he gave his tired mind a full minute to decipher what all that meant. Bit by bit, his memory began to kick in. ' _Right, I've been confined to the bed for the past few days with nothing else to occupy my time but assignments from school and bed rest. And that tray over there is breakfast prepared by Fuuko_.' Releasing a heavy sigh in anticipation of a highly uneventful day, he carefully eased himself out of bed, in order not to repeat his earlier experience, and walked over to where the tray lay to 'inspect' breakfast. Neatly laid out on it was a plate, on which were slices of lightly buttered toast, eggs sunny side up and sausages, two of each. A little off to one side was a cup of black coffee, which had gone cold a while back, atop a small saucer. Mikagami then proceeded to wash up before starting on his meal. When he returned to the tray with his breakfast, he noticed a small note, which he had missed earlier, tucked underneath the saucer. With pale slender fingers, he reached out to pick up the note and unfold it. It read:

Mi-chan,

If the coffee is cold, DON'T drink it unless you want to get a stomachache. There is a pot of freshly brewed coffee on the counter top in the kitchen, pour yourself another cup. If the food is cold, HEAT IT UP in the MICROWAVE. Don't want you getting sick!

Ja Ne!

Fuuko-chan!

His cheeks took on a pink hue. As he cursed under his breath. _Damn it! Why does she treat me like a 5-yr old?! It's not like I don't know how to look after myself! _With his eyebrow ticking madly he proceeded to carry out said instructions.

Once he had finished with breakfast, he looked around the house and noticed that it was a considerable lot cleaner since Fuuko took it upon herself to 'look after him'. _Not like I need any looking after…_As his surveillance round the house came full circle, his eyes returned once more to the kitchen. A wry smile passed over his lips and in the blink of an eye, it was gone; like as though it was never there. The kitchen was always fun. Yes, fun. It was filled with happy memories of his past. Memories of him and Mifuyu experimenting with ingredients and concocting new dishes. Of course there were little memorable mishaps here and there like the time when he wanted so badly to bake Mifuyu a birthday cake and he accidentally added salt instead of sugar. He had felt so guilty afterwards for ruining Mifuyu's birthday and yet she had not blamed him. Instead she had ruffled his hair and thanked him for his wonderful birthday present. Just like all the other times, when things went wrong, Mifuyu never failed to make him feel better. She always forgave him and encouraged him by telling him to never give up. Maybe she would be disappointed that he had given everything up the moment she ceased to exist, maybe she would be saddened by his decision to throw everything away the moment she left the living. But it is too late now to revert that decision…_isn't it?_

He sighed and shook his head a little to clear away the bittersweet memories. Looking up, he was now facing his kitchen. Suddenly he had an urge to cook something, anything. He looked at the round-faced, black-rimmed clock hanging on the wall above the fridge, another three-and-a-half hours before Fuuko returned from school. _Maybe I'll cook lunch today then I won't have to wait until two in the afternoon for it…_

Without further ado, he took the light beige apron hanging on the fridge handle and put it on, securing it in place with a neat bow tied at the small of his back. He then rummaged through the freezer for the pound of meat he knew he had bought just days ago and pulled out the fresh carrots and potatoes from the vegetable compartment. He then left the meat out to thaw while he busied himself with the potatoes and carrots. With the skill of a master chef, he skinned the potatoes in record timing, wasting as little as possible by removing the peel as close to the flesh as possible. Likewise was done with the carrots. Both ingredients were cut into neat cubes and left on a clean dish beside the stove. After getting the wok out from the cupboard, he placed it over the stove and lighted the fire, but not before pouring the required amount of oil into the frying pan. Once the oil began to simmer, he eased the ingredients into the frying pan and stirred it around for a bit, careful not to overcook them. while he was doing this, he had actually brought the meat closer to the fire so as to thaw it out faster. When he was done with the frying, he transferred the cooked items onto a clean dish with ease holding the heavy wok in one hand and using the spatula to scoop the fried potatoes and carrots onto said plate. By this time the meat had thawed. While he sliced the meet into cubes, only half his mind was on the cutting, the other half was pondering, _besides the beef stew, surely there should be another dish, but what?…hmm… Mifuyu always said that a meal had to be balanced, which means there should be a rice dish as well…I wonder what alternative there is to plain rice… _Absent-mindedly like it was second nature to him he continued to marinate the beef with black sauce and pepper when he suddenly remembered the most curious thing he had spotted in his vegetable compartment, a pineapple. One of the corners of his mouth twitched upwards to form a half-smile. He would whip up Mifuyu's instant problem-solver for hunger pangs: pineapple baked rice.

Having fried the beef by reusing the oil he used for the vegetables, he poured the mix of fried items into the slow cooker and added the required amount of water and left the stew concoction to slowly cook over time. He did not have to worry about that dish anymore; it would take care of itself since only time could make it taste better as it is with all stew.

With one dish settled he proceeded to transfer all his energy into the next as it held a special significance for him. It was almost like a tribute to Mifuyu. With a skillful maneuver of the chopper, he cut the pineapple into two neat halves. He smirked as he continued to hollow out the two halves …_thank goodness for sword fighting training, if not, I bet I'd still be struggling with the blasted pineapple…_and cut the fruits succulent flesh into rectangles. Due to excellent time management, he had half-cooked the rice earlier and left it too cool while he worked on the multi-faceted fruit. With the half-cooked rice cool enough to touch, he added the pineapple rectangles into the pot of rice and mixed the contents before pouring the entire mixture into the two hollowed-put pineapple halves. Making that there was enough water for the rice to continue cooking, he sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top of the dish and added a few slices of bacon and mushroom before popping the two halves into the oven to be baked. Just as he closed the oven, he heard the distinct sound of keys at the door. _She's home early, _looking up at the wall-clock in the kitchen, he corrected himself, _she's home early by one-and-a-half hours, too early._

Wiping his hands off on his apron, he made his way to the main door. Having expected her to open the door by now, he was a little surprised when he continued to hear her fumbling with the keys. Deciding to do her a favour, he opened the door and was met with a bigger surprise. There standing on his front step was a haggard looking Fuuko with her shoulders slumped forward and her body shivering slightly. He noticed also that she was not carrying her school things. Her usually brilliantly green eyes were hidden beneath her long purple bangs, which seemed to be doing a good job of obscuring her face as well. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she had brushed passed him, kicking off her shoes in the process. Hurriedly, she made her way to the guestroom, which she had been occupying the past few days while looking after him. However that was not before he caught sight of what looked very much like tears sliding down the side of her face leaving wet meandering trails in their wake. He began to experience a myriad of feelings ranging from the likes of puzzlement to curiosity and last but not least to worry.

Finally he decided that he should at least check on her and make sure she was alright in return for all the trouble she had taken over the past few days 'looking after' him. _Although I still think I'm less of a problem than she is…_Pouring a cup of freshly brewed green tea (he had always preferred tea in the morning as compared to coffee though he had chosen not to inform her). Initially made for himself, he removed his apron and brought it to her room. Knocking lightly on the door although it was ajar, he entered her room and stood in her doorway waiting to be invited in. From his position, he eyed her sprawled form on her bed. She lay front down with her face buried in the downy pillow. He could see her try to suppress her sobs as they wrecked her body causing her to tremble slightly. He sighed audibly to get her attention. And spoke with as gentle a tone he could manage for he was not at all versed in comforting distraught females.

" This feels like a reversal of roles," he paused as he advanced to place the cup of tea on the bedside table, before continuing, " you should drink the tea while it's hot. Lunch will be ready in a while." Seeing no sign of movement from her prone figure, he contemplated voicing out words of comfort, which he really did not feel like doing, when the chiming of the doorbell echoed throughout the house. He smirked_…saved by the bell…_before informing the unmoving female that he would answer the door. 

By the time he reached the front door, feeling very much like a doorman at some posh hotel, the impatient soul had already rung the doorbell several times. Mildly irritated he opened the door in a rather hostile fashion and was prepared to glare the irritant into apologising. All previous thought flew out of his mind the moment his eyes landed on the sight of Yanagi, Recca and Domon. Keeping his emotionless expression, he waited for them to explain their presence instead of inviting them in. Suddenly, he had a feeling something bad was about to happen. The tension was almost thick enough to be cut with a knife when Domon chose to speak, breaking the silence.

" Is Fuuko here with you?" 

Mikagami hesitated for a while he was very tempted to ask "Why?" instead of answering their question straightaway. Against his better judgement, he replied, his words coated in suspicion,

"Yes…"

No sooner had the word left his lips when he was thrown backwards by a sudden blow as Domon's fist connected with his jaw. He slammed against the wall with a bone-cracking force. He screamed in pain as he felt his ribs crack all over again, undoing the doctor's good work of setting and bandaging it. He slumped onto the floor with both arms folded over his chest clutching it in an effort to try and ease the pain. He turned his head to one side and coughed up a huge amount of blood. The coughing set his senses on fire as the pain spread though his body like a raging inferno. He almost screamed again but held it in by biting his lip. The coppery metallic taste filled his mouth as the blood leaked out its side and dribbled down to his chin. He lay there unmoving as the pain blazed throughout his nerve system. Uncaring towards his obvious agony, Domon bent down to lift Mikagami up by the front of his shirt when he was interrupted by the sounds of rapidly approaching footfalls. 

When she rounded the corner, she was met with the last sight she wanted to see. Mikagami was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, fighting to keep consciousness and Domon bending over him with a furious glint in his eyes, reaching out to do Mikagami more harm than what was already done. Without thinking she dashed forward and pushed Domon aside before kneeling beside Miakgami's prone form. She gently tried to help him up but he was too weak to move. Instead she used her body to shield him protectively and glared at Domon accusingly. With tears leaking out the side of her eye she asked them angrily almost shouting,

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Recca opened his mouth to answer but Domon beat him to it. Staring at her wide-eyed, 

" This means the pictures…the pictures, they were true! The bastard! Why I oughtta…" his aura had grown dangerously menacing. Even if Domon's crush on her had been proven false, even if he had a girlfriend now, he was still as protective over Fuuko as before. He reached forward to get at Mikagami again, bypassing Fuuko, when she screamed,

"Stop it! Stop this nonsense now!"

Seeing that her words had caused him to pause for a moment in his assault, she continued in a softer but still as firm a voice,

" Help me get him to the room first, I'll explain everything later. You have no idea how serious this is, thank goodness Yanagi is here." As she said the last sentence, she looked pleadingly at Yanagi (who had remained silent throughout the exchange with a hand cupped over her mouth), in hope that she would help convince Domon and Recca to lay off Mikagami at least until she explained the situation. 

Growling a little, Domon bent down to lift Mikagami up. He was slightly surprised that Mikagami was so weak as to lose consciousness after sustaining just one punch from him. He felt something was amiss but brushed it aside and praised himself instead for being powerful enough to knock Mikagami out in a single punch. Following Fuuko's instructions, he placed Mikagami on the bed albeit rather roughly, much to her annoyance. Fuuko stood by his bedside and the other three looked at her expectantly.

"So where's your explanation," Recca asked with a smirk on his face and one eyebrow raised in a cheeky expression, before continuing in a teasing sing-song voice, " or were those pictures in school true after all? Hmm? You sly vixen you…eh? eh?" he nudged her with his elbow teasingly. Her flustered response was immediate,

"No! That's not it! Ano… I don't know where to start…maybe this would give you some idea."

She reached forward and unbuttoned Mikagami's shirt. The other three stared at her wide-eyed at her audacity. But when she threw open his shirt, all sense of fun and teasing vanished. The room was suddenly filled with a shocked silence as Yanagi gasped and Recca and Domon cursed under their breath. They all stare at Mikagami's bandaged torso, decorated all over with thick lacerations caked with dried blood, some of which had split open again and was oozing fresh blood.

Without the need of any invitation, Yanagi stepped forward and placed her hands on Mikagami's injured body. She closed her eyes in concentration as an invisible aura surrounded her and poured forth onto Mikagami's person. Slowly, bit by bit, Mikagami's wounds began to heal right before their eyes. When she felt that she had transferred enough healing energy into him, she removed her hands and stepped back, collapsing into Recca's arms, weakened from using her healing ability, but still conscious.

Sighing audibly, Fuuko began to speak,

" I suppose I should start explaining now, why don't we go down to the kitchen and talk so we don't disturb him." 

Once in the kitchen, Fuuko poured them each a glass of coffee which Mikagami had not touched and went on to tell them everything that had happened since the day at the school-organised party.

Once their curiosity was satiated, they left the house and wished her well. Only Domon still seemed reluctant to leave her alone with Mikagami but after much persuasion and dragging from Recca, he conceded in the end. As she closed the front door behind them, she felt a presence behind her. Without turning around to face him, she asked,

"Feeling better?"

"A little. But I think you owe me an explanation." He replied back calmly, before continuing in a slightly commanding tone of voice, " Come with me to the kitchen and set the table, we're having lunch now." Grudgingly she followed him to the kitchen not really liking idea of being ordered around but given the morning's activities, she did not really have a right to be refusing him either. 

As she reached for the plates on the dish rack, she heard him call out to her form his position beside the oven at the other side of the kitchen,

" We won't be needing those…" then she saw him pull out from the oven what looked like two bowls of fragrant smelling food. Only when he laid them down on the dining table did she realise that they were pineapple husks with a layer of melted cheese over the top. The melted cheese had bits of brown and black peeping out of the mess of yellow making it look absolutely scrumptious. The smell alone from the cooked pineapple was enough to make her mouth water as it permeated throughout the kitchen. He smirked as he saw her stare admiringly at the produce of his culinary skills. 

"Would you kindly pick your jaw of the floor and fetch me two bowls, I would like to scoop the stew now."

He watched as she shot him a glare and got the bowls for him. As he scooped out the stew from the slow cooker, he called out to her,

"Pull yourself up a seat and I'll be with you shortly. And then you can start explaining." He heard her gulp and saw fidget nervously out of the corner of his eye. Setting down the two bowls of stew, he watched her taste it. Her face lit up in shock and awe.

"Oh my goodness! This tastes better than mine! And I pride myself for my stew!"

He smirked at her remark and gestured for her to try the other dish. She licked her spoon clean of the stew and scooped out a spoonful of baked rice cutting through the stringy texture of melted cheese and put it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored the taste of his specialty before a big goofy grin spread across her face, every bit of rice was lightly coated with the sweet tangy taste of pineapple. She commented enthusiastically,

"This is delicious! What's it called and where on earth did you learn to cook like that? You really have to teach me how to do this one!"

"You really don't think I survived all these years on take out, do you? It's called pineapple baked rice and…" he pause for a while causing her to look up at him. A thin smile formed on his lips as he continued his eyes still staring at the untouched dish before him, "…and Mifuyu taught me how to cook it." At this he looked up abruptly and caught her eye and said tersely, " I'd teach you but you're just stalling for time. Quick explain what happened this morning."

She nearly choked on her food at his sudden change of tone. She sighed resignedly and related the entire sequence of events to him, pausing periodically to eat and then continue talking. 

By the time they had finished lunch, she had finished her explanation as well. Mikagami had kept quiet all through her explanation, taking in everything she had to say all the while forming a plan in his mind, something he decided he would execute tomorrow when he returned to school. Before leaving Fuuko to clean up in the kitchen, he asked some very curious questions.

"I have two questions which I would like you to answer regarding this issue, the first is, is this girl Ayanami Misato in your class?"

Fuuko responded with a slight nod, and Mikagami continued with a mischievous glint in his eyes,

"My second question is just who were you describing to Misato?"

At this, Fuuko flushed and looked down, her cheeks a pretty pink, she replied shyly,

" Raiha…"

Mikagami's smirk grew wider, almost like he was mocking her for falling for Raiha and losing herself to this emotion called Love. With a haughty tone in his voice he shot back,

"I guessed as much, pathetic."

If she was not so embarrassed as it was, she would have shot back a retort but her mind was too muddled to think of anything intelligent to say. He left Fuuko to clean up after lunch while he went into her room to pack her things. When he emerged, he walked right up to her and dumped her sling bag of belongings and school things unceremoniously in front of her. With one hand akimbo and the other hanging lazily by his side, he leaned forward with a smug look on his face. With a sardonic smirk forming on his thin lips, he drawled out,

"I believe you've been free-loading off me for a while now. It's about time you left." With that he turned on his heel and went back into his room. She stood there seething in anger. Counting from one to ten in an attempt to control her anger, she faltered at eight and screamed at the top of her lungs,

" Teme, BAKAYAROU!"

Before picking up her bag in a huff and stomping out of his house, slamming the door behind her.

=====The Next Day=====

An excited murmur rippled through the crowd as Mikagami stepped into the school compound. The fanclub was already rearing to go when he shot them a glare, warning them that should they get ten feet within his personal space, they would regret ever being born. They immediately halted in their tracks. He was exuding an unusually menacing aura today, many began to wonder if he had picked up on what had happened just the day before.

It still being early, he made his way to Fuuko's classroom to look for, 

"Ayanami Misato, are you in here?"

His voice like liquid velvet without even trying to be as he slid open the classroom door. Ayanami's head shot up immediately shot up from the tabloid newspaper she had picked up on her way to school at the sound of her crush's voice.

"H…hai! Mikagami-sempai!" she stammered out.

Mikagami's allowed himself a small smile as he turned to face her. With half-lid eyes and his head cocked to one side he carried on with fluid continuity,

"Would you kindly follow me? I have something very important to ask you. It's somewhat of a private matter, so I was hoping we could go somewhere with more privacy?"

Who would not understand? The underlying meaning was so clear! She gave her response with a nod of her head, having gone mute with excitement. He sauntered over to her and took her hand in his and led her out of the classroom. His hand was soft and warm as it enveloped hers, so involved was she in enjoying the moment that seemed to come straight out of her dreams, she failed to notice him leading her down the deserted corridor to the school gym.

He opened the double-doors for her and shut them tightly behind himself and with a soft click locking it. He advanced causing her to back against a nearby wall. She giggled childishly and looked up to gaze into his hypnotic cerulean eyes when she gasped in shock. The amorous mood of before had thinned out to be replaced with cold indifference. His light blue eyes like chips of ice, reflected what little light that streamed in through the glass windows of the double doors. She gasped once more when his hand slammed into the wall right beside her head. He hissed into her ear,

"I heard about what you've been up to. Frankly, I don't care what you do to that Fuuko girl but I hate it when people stalk me. It's sick and disgusting."

She watched nervously when his other hand reached into his pocket. It emerged holding a very unusual dagger. It's handle like coils of cream-coloured metal with a tear-shaped crystal the colour of his eyes at the end. It had the Kanji character 'water' written within it. But more intriguing was the blade. It was short and transparent like glass. She soon found out that it was sharp as well when she felt it pressed to her neck. It was freezing cold, like it was made of ice. She began to cry as she felt it being pressed deeper into her neck. She heard his velvet voice float around her menacingly,

" Don't ever let me catch you doing that again."

She whimpered when she felt him draw the blade across the side of her neck as he stepped back from her. She slid down to the floor clutching her neck. She felt warm sticky fluid flow over her fingers. She cried even harder. She heard him chuckle in the dark, she looked up to see his slim figure silhouetted against the bright light shining from behind him, from the windows on the double doors. In one hand he held his strange looking weapon with the light shining through the transparent material of the blade which was coated in a thin layer of her blood, casting a reddish hue on the floor near where she sat. She shivered slightly in fear. She had never seen this side of Mikagami Tokiya before. It was so sinister and sadistic yet so mysteriously attractive.

His maniacal grin turned into a scowl. He had hoped to scare her but when he caught sight of that love-sick puppy-dog look on her face, he felt sick to the pits of his stomach. _Ergh…this girl has issues…fancy feeling seduced when I'm trying inflict fear and pain…yuck! _Feeling absolutely disgusted, he let Ensui's blade turn back into water and fall to the floor with a wet splash. He turned his back to her and strode out of the gym, unlocking the door like as though nothing had happened. He was not at all worried about her blabbering about him to the authorities because the school would not be in a hurry to expel the brightest student that has ever passed through their establishment.

=====That Night=====

__

Now just a quick call to Recca should fix the other problem. He listened to the monotonous repetition of the dial tone as he patiently waited for somebody to pick up on the other side. He did not have to wait long.

"Moshi moshi?" the voice of Hanabishi Recca floated through the ear piece, he replied curtly,

"Hanabishi, I need you to do something very important…" with a very cheeky tone, Recca interrupted him,

"Are you asking me for a favour? Heh heh heh…"

"Just shut up and listen, monkey…"

TBC

Author's rambling:

Just what is Mikagami up to? Will Recca comply? What's going on? Catch the next episode of Spiked Punch same time same channel!

Okay! Okay! I'm being corny…but I hope you people like this chapter…thank you for your past reviews and sorry that the previous chapter didn't really have much of Mikagami…but I'm sure this chapter more than makes up for it! Also I'd like to dedicate the cooking part to my dad! Believe it or not he's been pestering me to put in a cooking scene in one of my fics!!! 

Constructive criticisms please!!!!!Onegai!


	7. Solutions and Answers

Excuses:…heh heh heh…my friend always told me there's no such thing as a good excuse…but I'm giving you readers one anyway. I suppose I should have informed all of you at the beginning that this fanfic takes place after UBS. So it is focused on how the characters have matured after the UBS due to what they've discovered and what they have learnt during the tournament. I suppose this is reason enough that tokiya seems a little nicer than usual…so does this still mean he's out-of character? Maybe I've been watching too many other animes and gotten a little confused…It would help tremendously if you could tell me if tokiya is still ooc and if you can, what I can do to better the situation…thanx!!! I also apologise for how chapter one turned out…I think that chap is the most badly written of the lot…do forgive…

Spiked Punch7: Solutions and Answers

Recca was having trouble processing the information _he_ was filling him in with from the other side of the line. It was all pouring in so fast he was trying to grapple with the magnitude of the situation he was being presented with and the even more problematic solution the _other person_ was proposing. Would it really work? Was it really worth it calling in the Uruha over such a trivial matter? It may be true that things have simmered down since the death of Kouran Mori. But it was a known fact that the two sides stayed as far away from each other as possible while still living in the same country! If Japan was not the land on which the Hokage was born, Kurei would have moved to the other end of the planet! 

He was pulled out of his reverie suddenly when he heard a crisp voice through the static of his phone calling him,

"Hanabishi? Hanabishi are you still there, sea monkey?" 

With a measure of uncertainty present in his voice he uttered,

"H-hai?"

"There's one more thing you must do, you need to swear you will not tell anybody about what has been exchanged between us."

"Swear?" the uncertainty now more obvious than before.

"Yes…" the voice from the other side hissed, _his_ patience was definitely thinning out.

"Heh Heh Heh… Ne, Mikagami don't you think that is too…"

"Just SWEAR!"

" OK!OK! I swear!"

And then the line went dead.

His legs felt weak beneath him. He muttered to himself, "What have I gotten myself into?" an exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he trudged back to the bedroom, which he now shared with Kouganei. As he slid open the door, he saw the kid sprawled over both futons, with his mouth wide open, snoring AND drooling at the same time. It seems that no matter how mature he was when he was awake, it was not his time to grow up yet. Looks like sleep would be eluding him this night so he might as well spend it planning for the little 'event' that was about to take place.

*****

He hung up as soon as he swore Recca to secrecy. Is it the right thing to do? True, it was elaborate, but there are more benefits than detriments, are there not? Both fractions are part of Hokage, why should they remain separate? Plus, it was more than evident to him that Recca, as much as he likes to deny it, did long for his half-brother's acceptance. And Kurei on the other hand was not all that cold as he made himself out to be. 

He smirked. _Since when have I become so meddlesome? Their lives are theirs to govern. It's not up to me to look out for them...I guess I'm just not the same person anymore… But what changed all that, which I've worked so hard to build? The life without friends, the burning desire for revenge, what happened to all that? _He had to smile when only one word came to mind, _Wakaranai…_

He released an exasperated sigh…_so many questions too few answers…_

The next few days passed without incident. Hokage still gathered at the usual place, the fanclub still chased Mikagami, and Recca and Domon still got caught for sleeping in class because they snored too loudly. But all that was on the surface. Someone was definitely up to something and only time would reveal what it was.

~ One week later…~

"Hey! Fuuko! Wait up!" Recca hollered from the other end of the corridor. Tiredly she stopped and turned around to face him. She was drop dead tired and really did not want to waste any more time than what was completely necessary in school. She had things to do, sleep to catch… 

"What do you want, Recca?" she asked lethargically. 

He bounded up to her and skidded to a halt right in front of her. Bent over and panting with his hands to his knees for support and his sports bag slung over his shoulder, he gushed out between breaths, "I [pant] need to [pant] speak with you. [pant*pant] It's a matter of [pant] utmost importance." He finally straightened up still red in the face from his exertion. Fuuko turned around and started walking, but at a slower pace so Recca could keep up. He took this as an invitation to speak freely. He was a little hesitant about assuming that Fuuko would stop and listen to what he had to say with full attention, as she usually did, because his proposal this time round was of a somewhat more complicated nature. So it was best to be formal and polite so as not to trigger an outburst. 

"Err… Fuuko, are you free tonight?" 

She paused for a moment, long enough to throw him a suspicious glance. This sounded too much like somebody's speech to ask a girl out on a date. And that was the last thing she would be expecting out of Recca's mouth, especially when directed to her instead of Yanagi. Her senses dulled by her weariness of a day at school, she was still uncertain about giving a straight answer. A question would be better.

"Why?"

He already knew he would not get a straight answer from her, this coming from knowing her almost all his life. Thank goodness he had an excuse prepared. Stumbling a bit at first, a little unused to lying to a good friend,

"Er…my…my…MUM! Yes, my Mum won a $100 voucher to Compass Rose the other day at a lucky draw. She couldn't go with Shigeo cause he has to a lot of orders coming in for fireworks lately so she gave it to me. I was wondering if you could go with me tonight cause I don't want to waste the voucher and all…" he let his lie tail off hoping she would bite the bait.

Fuuko did not bite the bait. She knew a lie from a truth and whatever Recca was saying sounded suspiciously like a lie. However, she would like to give him the benefit of the doubt since they are childhood friends after all. But one thing still stood out…

"Why me? What about Yanagi? Isn't she free?" with a bit of her jovial personality coming back into the picture, she teased, 

"Wouldn't want her to think you're cheating on her with me, do you? Hmm…?" she paused for a bit and sucked in a deep breath. Then with the sternest look she could create, she stared him down (and he visibly cowered) saying,

" Cause if you are, I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT!" 

With his best poker face, he breathed a sigh of relief and replied smoothly,

"Nah, she's not interested, I asked her a few moments ago. She said she wasn't feeling up to western food tonight. So you see I've exhausted all possibilities, that's why I've come to you!" Evidently proud of himself that he had managed to reason things out to a logical conclusion to Fuuko. (At the same time making a mental note to self to explain all this is not quite what it seems to Yanagi later on.) However, contrary to what he believed would happen, Fuuko's features darkened considerably, in a dangerously soft tone she hissed out,

" So, I'm the last option, is it? So you think I'll definitely go out with you tonight, is it? Well think again buddy! Go find yourself another dinner partner!" she huffed and stomped ahead. Recca quickly realising the error of his ways sprinted forward to catch up with her and apologised profusely for assuming her response. She smiled tartly at him and grinned mischievously, 

"Just kidding! I'd go anywhere with anyone as long as there's good food! Just don't make such audacious assumptions in the future, you might make other girls angry!" she teased, walking away from an incredibly stunned and incredibly relieved Recca, waving her hand and calling out for him to meet her at the place itself at seven tonight. He yelled out an affirmative as she faded into the distance.

He breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall. That had been an incredibly hard stunt to pull off. To get Fuuko to come out with him that night without letting her know the real itinerary, that is. Phew! He wiped the sweat off his brow. Now to confirm the night's agenda with another very testy someone. _Man! I think my nerves would burn themselves out by the end of the day! Trust Mikagami to come up with such elaborate plans…and evade all the groundwork!_

Fuuko was excited to say the least. She was going to the Compass Rose! It did not really matter who she was going out with but the Compass Rose! It was like one of the most prestigious restaurant worldwide! With world class service from the waiters and waitresses and, where only the finest delicacies were served! There was so much else to rant about the food, ambiance, food prices…FOOD PRICES! She shot out of her daydreams. One dish could cost up to twenty plus thirty dollars. If both Recca and herself were to have an appetizer, a main course and a desert each, it was highly unlikely that one $100 voucher would suffice. Recca could not possibly splurge so much on one meal, he and she were just neighbourhood kids; they could not afford such expenditure. Something suspicious was definitely going on. 

With her bubble slightly dented, she dressed for the dinner. She had tried calling Recca earlier, but nobody picked up the phone. She slipped on a simple chiffon dress. With a halter neck fastening around her pale, slender throat; its length reached to her knees. She twirled about in front of her full length mirror in one of her rare moments of femininity, and watched in with a slight smile as the material fanned out around her legs before falling back into place. She put on lilac lipstick to match her evening dress of pale purple and her mane of lustrous amethyst. Around her neck was a quaint little necklace with a perfectly clear orb-shaped pendent. The only other accessory she had on, was her Fuujin on her customary hand. 

The cab pulled up outside the Compass Rose and she got out after paying the taxi driver. Her white strapped heels rapped against the pavement as she made her way to the front entrance. She saw Recca standing there in a full tuxedo. Unlike what she had expected, he did not look the least bit dumb in sophisticated clothing. The black coat of the tux was buttoned at his front and flattered his male figure by hugging his waist. With one hand tucked into his trouser pocket, he looked positively charming. He smiled slightly when he saw her, but she could see that it didn't quite reach his eyes. There was a certain amount of uneasiness radiating from him. His lack of quips about how girlish her outfit was and his subdued mannerism unsettled her somewhat. She slowed her pace as she approached him. Suddenly, she picked up a very familiar vibe. Turning her head slightly to the greenery surrounding the restaurant, which was situated atop the little hill on the other side of Tokyo, she watched with apprehension. Dread built up inside her as two figures materialized in the shadows. One stepped into the light before the other, both wore a look of severe seriousness. The first was also, like Recca, clad in a suit of formality. The second however, wore a cloak of blood red fastened around his waist by four black belts. He did not wear a mask this time, but he might as well have since his façade was virtually emotionless.

" Raiha…Kurei…" she breathed out in shock. Her mind raced over the possibilities for their presence and the most logical one it came to was that they were not here for mid-afternoon tea. Whatever their reasons were, it was not likely that they would be pleasant. With the ease of an experienced fighter, she slipped into stance. Her fists were positioned protectively in front of her face and her legs spread slightly to brace herself for the attack she felt was sure to come. A little worried of her lack of suitable attire, she eyed them warily waiting for them to make the first move.

However, it was curious to note that her eyes while flitting back and forth between the two, was more focused on the former, Raiha. She had not seen him in ages and their brief encounter with each other was straight out of a fairytale; she was already standing in the doorway of death when he, like a prince on a white horse, came and saved her and Domon from the clutches of death. That day, he had left her with a cryptic message, when she had asked him if they would meet again, he replied without hesitation that they definitely would because they were destined to. Thereafter, whenever she laid eyes on him, even after she found out that he was Kurei's right-hand man, she always felt a strange tug in her gut. It was like she was drawn to him by some higher power, and she was tempted to believe that it was Love, in fact she already had.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she threw a quick glance at Recca to see how he was coping with the situation. She had to make a double take when she noticed him standing there nonchalantly with, both his hands this time, shoved deep into his pockets. His lack of response was disquieting and it was not long before she could no longer hold back her curiosity,

"Recca what's going on?"

He froze it was like as though he was not expecting her question. Slowly, he came back to life and lifted his hand to scratch the back of his ear. He must have been really nervous cause she had not seen him do this since he was a kid. Finally, he ventured an explanation,

"Well, I called Kurei, and through him I set up a blind date for you,…with Raiha…" he tailed off. A slight frown creasing his young brow as he anticipated her none-too-favourable answer. She looked at him her pretty face painted with a look of disbelief, 

"And whose stupid idea was this?" she slackened her stance, knowing for sure now that there was not eminent fight, with one hand rising to rest on her hip as she stared at him with a mildly irritated gaze.

"It was totally Mi…my idea." He replied in a defiant voice, catching himself just in time before he made a slip. At this, Kurei raised an eyebrow in amusement. Growing more than a little tired with the two bickering with each other over a problem as small as dinner at the Compass Rose, he decided now was time for him to take control. In a deep cutting voice, he spoke,

"The night isn't getting any younger. There are important things that need to be discussed than who is stupid and who is not, so would the two of you stop wasting everybody's time and get on with the program?" 

Both Recca and Fuuko stopped short to stare at him, their mouths hanging half open in shock. Seeing that he was not going to get an intelligent response from his half-brother nor Fuuko, he continued,

"I've already booked the restaurant, all that is needed of you, Fuuko, is to remove your madougu so we can proceed as planned, or should I say as agreed?" with the last statement he threw Recca a pointed glance which warned him to keep his end of the bargain. At this, Recca finally decided that it was time to quit fooling around. With sure steps, he approached Fuuko and grasped her right hand and looked deep into her eyes. 

She snapped her head back to face him when she felt him grasp her arm, a spiked retort on the tip of her tongue. Then she fell right into his arresting gaze. Fuuko froze. It was not often where people saw this side of Recca, the sure and authoritative leader of team Hokage. Being a member of his team, she was privileged enough to catch a glimpse of it from time to time. However, seeing it directed at her was quite another thing altogether. She did not even retaliate when she felt his hand slip off her weapon.

When he finally released her from his grip, she regained some of her senses, at least enough to shout back cuttingly,

" Why do I have to go through with this?! I'm sure that Raiha wants no part in this mess!" then she turned her head questioningly to Raiha and added, "do you?"

Without warning, she felt Kurei's ki gather around him. She was almost sure the temperature of the vicinity rose a few degrees. The only response she got from Raiha was his trademark smile and a non-committal, 

"I'll want whatever Kurei-sama wants me to do." 

Fuuko's eyes widened at his answer. _Was there no limit to his loyalty to Kurei?_ She felt Kurei's ki lessen somewhat as a small mirthless smirk appeared on his scarred face. It was Recca's voice that called her back to the situation at hand and away from her musings.

"Fuuko, I would greatly appreciate it if you would cooperate this once and try to enjoy yourself. The primary purpose really was for your benefit, but Kurei's right, he and I do have other important things to discuss." 

Her eyes widened and her jaw slacked. _Could this night get anymore surprising? Recca is agreeing with Kurei for crying out loud! I think the world is coming to an end…_

With her shoulders slumped in resignation, she sighed her consent to having dinner with Raiha and going through with the blind date. However, just as Kurei and Recca were walking off to another location, she shouted her challenge into the night, "I'll get you back for this one day, Recca!"

She watched for a moment as Recca and Kurei stood side by side before disappearing in an instant using the age-old jyushinshu trick. She sighed again and turned around only to be met with startling amethyst eyes and a pleasant smile from her date. He was less than an arms length from her and she caught a whiff of his cologne. A shock of pink fanned across her cheeks, as he reached out and took her hand in his, leading her to the grand entrance of the compass rose.

Author's ramblings:

Fwah! Another chapter finished! Sorry folks for taking so long with this chap. I'm going through a transition period in my life and it's kinda rough so I hope ya'll can cut me some slack. I want to assure you guys that I've every intention of completing this fic and even re-do chap on when I feel up to it. However, I can't upload chapters very fast cause the workload in JC is a killer. Erm…once again, please drop me a review if you feel the story is up to standard if not don't bother. Like always constructive criticism is WANTED and flames will be accepted. I really only want the truth. If it's bad, just give it to me straight in the face. It would be even more helpful if you could tell me how I can improve.

Last but not least, if you pple really like appreciate the uploading of this chapter, you should thank Kavi-san. It was from this kind soul that I found the strength to complete it this soon…if not you'd still be waiting for me to upload. This individual took the trouble to email me and ask me personally about the fic and that touched me greatly. Unfortunately, when I tried to reply, the email kept bouncing back, so this is my way of thanking you if you're reading this. THANX!


	8. Madougu

Spiked Punch:

Chapter 8-Madougu

She dropped herself into the seat her date had pulled up for her, feeling a little deflated. The whole thing had seemed fresh out of a dream she once had before. The expensive restaurant with good food, the love of her life as her date and the romantic atmosphere…It was all going perfectly well until they reached the grand entrance of the Compass Rose...

There standing behind the intricately carved podium stood their waiter, all ready to serve them, dressed in a pair of black shoes and pants, an ironed white starched long-sleeved shirt topped with a black bowtie, … and a baseball cap.

            Fuuko nearly shrieked when she saw him flash her a fanged-grin, she couldn't tell reached his eyes.

            "Welcome to the Compass Rose. A table for two?" he asked in a thick Kansai accent. Between shock and disgust, Fuuko managed to grind out through her teeth,

            " Joker! What are you doing here?!"

            " Maa maa…Kurei-kun just wants to know what happens…Rai-san being his right-hand man and all." At this he shot Raiha a pointed look. In response, a small smile spread across Raiha's face, then following up with a question of his own,

            "What did he say exactly?"

            " Well, I asked if he wanted me to keep an eye on you, and he said 'Raiha's the only one who has fully mastered the Raijin, do what needs to be done.'" 

            "AND what exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Fuuko cut in rather testily, not liking being left in the dark. Her gaze shifted from the 'waiter' to her 'date'.  She was not the only one exchanging glances though, she saw a fine thread of understanding pass between Raiha and Joker before they finally broke eye-contact.

            "That's for me to know and for you to puzzle over," came the thick accented reply, " now, table for two?" he asked once more, easily slipping back into the role of a waiter from that of an Uruha member. Raiha nodded in response, but a small frown flit across his face, the cryptic message had served its unsaid purpose. Needless to say, none of this passed unnoticed by Fuuko. It was obvious that some kind of order or warning had been issued, _but what? Did it have something to do with their weapons? Raijin…Fuujin…_

These thoughts continued to murmur at the back of her mind only because she thought better of silencing them completely. The rest of her focused on the date itself. Joker walked before them, leading them to a quaintly set up table for two. The white tablecloth glowed in the incandescence of the blood red candles held stiffly in the cold silver candelabra. Raiha played the role of the perfect gentleman, pulling up her seat for her, ordering for her and complimenting her. The play was faultless, almost like it came out of a guidebook and was rehearsed to perfection. Her responses were not so perfect, but her candidness still could not add enough life to the deadened stage on which she was but wooden chess piece. Indeed, as joker had said, she began to puzzle over the jigsaw that was set before her, she knew all the pieces were in front of her now it was getting them to fit into the right place.

Her thoughts were rudely broken when their orders arrived. She stared almost blankly as a very familiar hand that possessed the grace of a melody and faint scars of battle, laid her dish before her. Her eyes traced the hand to its owner's face. Lavender eyes peering through orangey-red hair stared back down at her. 

            "Neon-han! There you are! Now, now, you know it's impolite to stare at the customers. Go on back to the kitchen, go…" Joker hurriedly ushered her along to the double doors of the kitchen. But Fuuko would not forget, the eyes, they were not full of contempt like they usually were, but with pity.

            "Wait! Why do you look at me like that?" she called out to Neon before she disappeared into the kitchen. The other women paused on the threshold of the adjacent room just long enough to reply, " because you chase something that's not there." And then she was gone.

Slowly, Fuuko turned round in her seat, even slower she raised her eyes to meet his. Then with an unexpected determination she spoke,

            " You know what's going on. Tell me." Seeing that he was not going to give her an answer, she continued, " first Recca shows up with Kurei and they're not fighting, then I go on a pre-planned date with you. God knows what other weird things are happening right now but you better start spilling." Raiha smiled at her, it was not patronizing but it did not answer her question either. Finally, he decided an explanation would not satisfy her curiosity, instead, he proposed,

            " Bear with me a little while. Pretend what has happened before didn't, and that this is nothing more than a proper date as it was meant to be. And in return I promise you, you'll understand what's been happening before you swallow your last morsel tonight."

She bit her lip as her face scrunched up in concentration. After a while she spoke again, 

            "I'll go through with what you suggest, but on one condition, [here he nodded in response] you will answer all my questions after dinner without any of your riddles."

He stared at her for a moment, stormy gray meeting emerald green eyes, the corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile and he was the first to break the eye-contact,

            "Sure."

~*~

The dishes arrived in a slow but steady pattern, allowing for enough time for conversation to brew between each course. The appetizers quelled the rising tension with it's coolness of taste, the main course was fuel for the delicious building of emotions. Not to mention the red wine that caused blushes as red as it to colour flushed cheeks. And dessert was as sweet as the answers it provided.

Fuuko smiled at him, and watched as he picked up his wine glass once again to taste the bittersweet tang of its contents. 

His eyes were on her too, watching her every move with what he hoped was discreet interest. It was not interest in her per say, but her reaction to all this. 

She knew he was watching her, but it did not feel like the way a man looks at a women when they are in love…there was something darker to it. 

Well it's time for the last act of the play. The audience will soon find out what is missing in this mystery…

Their table had been cleared of dishes, leaving only the silver candelabra with its blood red candles and flickering flames between them. How fitting, dancing fire with melting blood, to remind him of his relation to Kurei and the purpose of the dinner. One hand twirled her glass absently while the other lay lazily beside the warm metal of the candle-holder. Her eyes were half closed and her mind nearly hypnotized by the swirling red liquid in her crystal glass when she felt a smooth warmness slide over her hand. It was not obtrusive or rude, but the presence felt like a faux pas, comfortable but mistaken. A frown creased her brow as she slid her hand from under his palm.

Her attention snapped back to him when she heard him chuckle. Retrieving his own hand, he placed it over his smiling lips as he gave a polite cough to cover up for his laughing at her reaction. His amusement danced in his stormy blue eyes, it was like he knew some secret she had no access to. Smilingly, he asked her,

            "Why do you think you did that?"

When she could not provide him the answer, he decided to relieve her of the agony of not knowing by offering his long, drawn-out explanation. 

            " Think of it this way, your psychic device is called God of Wind and mine is God of Thunder. Together, they make two-thirds the storm. These are the two forces that lend a storm its terrifying nature while the rain washes the land clean. It is the self-same fury of the storm that lends us, the modougu's users, the same passion that burns in us when we do things. Naturally, for each other as well… As for tonight, in the absence of our weapons, I guess you could say the magic does not work."  He flashed her a sad smile as he gave her time to accept this. 

_Sadly, while we stay close as friends, there will come a time, we will stay closer still as enemies…you and I. _…sigh.

            " Do you understand what I'm saying. Fuuko? We are attracted to each other not in the same way normal men and women are, it is our weapons that bring us together. Without them, we are just two wandering souls in this wide world that may never have laid eyes on each other."

            Somehow, as she sat there in her pretty evening dress relishing her last sips in this elegant restaurant, his explanation seemed to flow over her like water. It was not like she did not believe him because deep in her heart she knew it to be true, it was the big picture she would have arrived at when all the jigsaw pieces fell into place, but yet, him sitting there across from her in his black tuxedo with scarcely a wrinkle seemed so surreal. It was like a mist clouded her mind and she let the words slip from her mouth, " And yet one day we will be closer bound still as enemies…you and I." His eyes seemed to widen slightly in shock but he kept his emotions in check as he gazed at her half-lid eyes. 

            Suddenly, the trance was broken when Fuuko looked away to put her glass down. Then without looking up she said softly, "It's late and I'm tired. I want to go home."

Neither spoke another word as Raiha rose from his seat and helped her out of hers. It was a long quiet walk they shared, back to her place. The silence was a source of comfort to both of them and neither had the courage to break it. The play finished in silence as Fuuko tip-toed to kiss him lightly on the cheek before walking back into her apartment. Raiha merely smiled in acceptance and bowed as she took her leave of him. The Play had come to an end.

Author's Ramblings:

Hey people! I'm really sorry that this took like forever but like I said I'm struggling with my school work, school life, promotional exams and depression all at the same time. So cut me some slack when it comes to frequency of posting ok? Same as usual, tell me everything you like everything you hate and just anything at all you want to say regarding this piece of junk I update from time to time. Flames [should you feel I deserve them] are accepted as well…I guess…though I really don't know what I'm encouraging here….anyway thanx for taking the time to read this!!!

Luv,

Knanaki


	9. Conclusion's Revelation

Spiked Punch 9:

Conclusion's Revelations

Love had come so easy and slipped by so fast she questioned if it was love indeed. From the moment she first laid eyes on him the day he saved her and Domon from a watery demise, she had known that they would be bound by fate. He had said it was destiny, their destiny that bound them to each other and she knew what he said was true before he even gave voice to it.

Yet now as she sat with her back to the door of her apartment, as she listened to the fading sounds of his court shoes against the pavement outside, and something pulled at her heart. There was an odd fluttering in her stomach and her mind was alight with a revelation she had yet to understand. She knew very well now that she was in love and not afraid to love. The fear to love another was strong in her as he was constantly on her mind, but that was then… now she had other queries on her mind. And the question oddly enough, was in love with who…?

Her evening dress swished around her knees as she walked over to the telephone with the cheap acrylic number pad with gaudy flashing neon colours. In her contemplative mood, they seemed vulgar. Trance-like she dialed the number, his number.

"Moshi-moshi?"

"Can you come by my place? I need to talk…please?"

"Fuuko?"

_…the line went dead…_

"Fuuko?!"

Half an Hour Later…

                The violent drumming of knuckles against her front door summoned her out of her trance. Blinking slowly, she got up using her feet to clumsily sweep aluminum beer cans out of the way, in the process spilling beer onto her floor. She cursed softly under her breath but continued in her shaky-legged amble towards the door. Leaning heavily against the door because her feet refused to support her any longer, she sluggishly undid the locks and pulled the door open to stumble backwards before gaining her balance at the last possible moment to smile rather sedately at him.

                "Hi… glad you could make it."

                "Fuuko! Are you drunk?!"

                "I dunno I had…" here she turns around to count the beer cans on the floor but that really messed up her sense of balance or at least whatever sense of it she had left in her alcohol-addled brain.

                In a flash of movement, he caught her arm to pull her up and secured an arm around her waist to support her. She continues to tip backwards with her head lolling when she snaps it up to complete her sentence,

                "…5 cans, I kept the last one for you, Mi-chan."

He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head in disapproval at what she had done. With one foot, he kicked the door close and slowly went about setting things right.

She was slumped over the couch handle watching Mikagami bent over cleaning up the mess of beer all over the floor and putting away the empty cans. His movements were filled with a kind of grace and elegance that was hard to ignore even when he was doing menial work, it was like he was made of a different mould from everybody else, cast in gold and descent from royalty. She watched his back as he moved back into the kitchenette to put away the cleaning apparatus and throw away the rubbish and mess she made.

When he reappeared at the doorway he caught her staring at him very intently. She seemed to see right through him, seemed to see everything hidden in him, he felt naked under the glare of her attention. He blushed and looked away, slowly he moved out of her line of vision and circled the couch to come up from her other side. He knelt beside her when he looked up, he found her watching him very closely again. Swallowing his discomfort, he asked,

"You want to tell me what this is all about?"

"I went out on a blind date tonight." She paused, she looked like she was waiting for him to say something…

"I'd say that hardly cause enough for me to run all the way to your house in the dead of night. What exactly happened that made you so…upset?" At this she flashed him a small smile and continued,

"Recca set me up, it was with Raiha. And I learnt something tonight over dinner," as she spoke she slid further down the couch till she was eye level with Mikagami, "I don't love him." Maintaining a deadpan expression as best as he could, he still could not stop a slight blush from colouring his cheeks, she was so close, when she spoke, he could feel her alcohol scented breath on his face, and it was intoxicating. He had to look away, he no longer trusted himself to do what was right.

"I also found out something else."

She cupped his cheek and directed his face to hers before she kissed him full on the lips. His attempt to remain unaffected crumbled when she ran her tongue over his lips, requesting entry. Before he even realized what was happening, he was kissing her with all the pent up emotion he did not even know he felt towards her. They finally broke for air, panting and blushing. She had a soft smile playing on her lips while he slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. There was a strange sensation building up in his chest. He wanted so badly to scream with joy and yet the tranquility they experienced there and then in the silence and dim lighting of her living room floor was almost sacrilege to defile with any sound louder than their quivering breaths. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling her forward into an embrace. Her arms encircled his waist as she leaned into him. Slowly he trailed his hand along her back, in a soothing motion he repeated the slight pressure. Rhythmic and calming he stroked along the length of her back the way a mother would a child putting her to bed. It was not long before Fuuko was fast asleep in his embrace.

Slowly he eased himself out of her hold and carried her gently in his arms taking great effort not to disturb his sleeping beauty. He carried her to her bed and tucked her under the covers. It warmed his heart to watch her snuggle deeper into the covers. It had been a long while since he felt so much peace. There was a numbing quietness in his mind that seemed greater than the silence that surrounded him. All fears and doubts, anxieties of any kind had dissipated the moment she kissed him and now as he watched her sleeping he basked in the peace he only felt in her presence.

When he next looked at the clock, timed had moved incredibly fast while he sat by her bedside. It had already passed the early hours of the morning and light of day was fast approaching in a little more than an hour. Bestowing upon his blessed angle another kiss, he made his way to the hall to make himself comfortable on the couch. There will be many more loose ends to tie up in the next few days but for once he was confident that things would fall into place smoothly.

A/N:

I'm terribly sorry if this feels cheesy. And I'm also terribly sorry for the long wait and the unfulfilling chapter. I realized that this chapter does not exactly tie everything up so I'll probably install an epilogue somewhere later on. I realized my writing skills have been on a serious decline since I have not been writing anything at all in like the past almost a year I think and I'm terribly sorry about the sub-standard of the piece. Please forgive. 


	10. Epilogue

Spiked Punch:

EPILOGUE

It was years down the road. Recca and Kurei were now working together to retrieve all the lost madougu. It was a joint venture for the brothers, what with their history, what with their heritage, what with the blood that they shared, they owed it to their forefathers and their that they worked together to revive and salvage whatever they could of their clan's lost history together. With kurei's connections, expensive and difficult to obtain pieces could be carefully maneuvered out of the lime light and watchful eyes of avid collectors of Japan's ninja artifacts. While the pieces trapped deep in the slimes and sludge of the underworld death kombats and assassination would be retrieved by Recca and his faithful band of friends who had together once long ago entered a Dark Matial Arts Combat under the title of 'Hokage'.

It was difficult at first to put their differences aside. The numerous attempts on each other's life was not easy to just brush off and bury in the past like just another memory. There was always that wariness and that fear of being backstabbed by a brother. But soon over time, the call of the same blood that ran in their veins bound them closer and closer together. They became a formidable team, renowned in the shadowy underworld and respectfully whispered with fear and admiration in dark corner on the streets of Tokyo in the wee hours of the morning amongst bands of lurking criminals and crime lords. They watched each others' back now. With no room for mistakes, their skills had increased exponentially in the few years they worked together. Training and very real life and death situations had called for, demanded that synchrony in their attacks and oneness of thought. One could say they were inseparable. Almost.

"Nani?! Another one stolen?! At this rate we might as well guard the stash ourselves, then we won't have to keep going out on missions to retrieve the weapons! I thought you were a professional?!"

"Stop complaining. You knew this was bound to happen."

"What do you mean I knew it was bound to happen?! You said you had your best men guarding the artifact! God, I can't wait till this damn collaboration is over! It's been 3 bloody years!"

"Likewise, likewise. I'm getting sick and tired of your whining and complaining, Recca."

So that was life for them the two brother, flame-casters born with the power to wield flame in the palm of their hands. One cursed, one eternal, both as powerful. Always the one-sided quarrel before a perfect retrieval. Regardless of their complaints of each other, both knew that their partnership would last long after their business dealings come to an end. Blood after all does run thicker than water, likewise by blood are these brothers bound to each other.

-In Vino Veritas-

It was a shy awkward start to their relationship. The 'morning after' that caught them off guard after that night proved to be a hard mental barrier to overcome. Their relationship had almost not materialized but after weeks of avoidance and sick with pining, there was a confession on a rooftop that changed their lives forever.

Her eyes shifted nervously from left to right as she shuffled on her feet. Being alone on a rooftop with him clearly made her uncomfortable. Her stomachs were doing flip-flops and she frankly didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Having no experience in such matters, she had decided all those weeks ago to avoid Mikagami. She would never live down the blush that arose every time she caught sight of him and recalled that morning when she opened her eyes to find his face just inches away from hers. They had fallen asleep on the couch with their noses almost touching. All she could do that time was stare. She took in the sounds of his soft moth-breath, noted the angle at this his lashes fell against his cheek, and when they fluttered open the clear blue of his eyes. She shook herself out of her reverie. She knew she was blushing again and it was worse now as he began to walk over to her. Hesitantly, she raised her pink stained face to meet his gaze. Eyes scrunched up in defiance, she asked brusquely, " What did you want in calling me up here?"

_There was a long pause._

_Apparently, she wasn't he only one who was feeling uncomfortable. Mikagami repeatedly brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck nervously as his eye seemed to dart about the place, conspicuously avoiding her. Finally, he took a deep breath and steadied his gaze on her as he reached out both hands to hold her firmly by the shoulders. His hold was not tight or possessive, but it was firm and amazingly gentle at the same time._

_"Fuuko, I need to tell you something. I haven't stopped thinking about you since that night. My thoughts keep going back to what you said. I know I shouldn't hold you to your word because you were inebriated, but you said you loved me… and I can't help but feel that I share that sentiment." Here he broke eye contact and continued rambling, she had never seen him this way before, a complete ball of nerves, unsure and stumbling. It was inexperienced stumbling, candid, totally uncool, but sweet. Somewhere between his explanation about making lunch and thinking about her all the while, she stepped up on tip toes and planted a firm kiss on his lips. _

There was initially the sense of disbelief of having found one another in such a way that was almost laughable. Neither had a history of being alcoholic, but still, the road to their union was fraught with stories of alcohol, beer cans and of course, spiked punch. Neither had thought it possible in a million years that such conflicting personalities as they had between them could ever have survived the fall-out from the numerous quarrels their relationship had weathered, but what they say about opposites attracting did after all hold some truth in it. Her blustery temper would always be calmed by the ease at which he moved against the flow of her arguments. He always found a way to pacify her, somehow.

"Extra lessons again?! Don't you know when to quit? This is the fourth time this week you're postponing our date! You better get this fixed before I fuujin your ass for playing me out again."

"You know I don't organize these extra lessons myself, Fuuko. Stop being unreasonable. I'll make it up to you, I always do right?

"But, Mi-chan! It's not the action but the principle behind it!"

"Why don't you call Raiha out for a drink? Come home by 8 tonight and I'll make sure it's worth your while. Hmm?"

"I guess I'll look forward to dinner then."

Raiha had since then taken on the role of friend and confidante, there was no other way to put it. Bound by fate, they shared a twisted history together. With or without the Madougu, their shared experiences had forged an undeniably strong bond between them. Dinner that night may have been a mistake, but their friendship was not. Even if nothing serious had come of it, the intensity of emotions and the almost tangible thread of fate that connected them drew them together to look out for each other till the arrival of that fateful day when their psychic devices would decide who should live and who should die. Till then, all that is left is to savour and cherish that bond they shared.

So it draws to a close and the tale to an end, I can't for sure say that they lived happily ever after because you dear reader know that it doesn't happen that way. Life after all is not that simple, but these cherished moments, even if that is all they may be, mere moments, must be treasured and remembered. Relationships are formed but while some last some do not. So remember to hold dear what you have at the present moment and when the time comes to move on, remember that it's the experience and the lessons learnt that count. Life and love are after all complicated things and it takes more than a lifetime to fully comprehend them.

The End

A/N: I apologise for the extremely late and cheesy ending. But I hope that this time round it's an adequate end to the series. Thank you all who've been here all this while to support this fic of mine and I can now safely and finally declare, it is over. Thank you for you attention and readership. I appreciate the time you've taken. Thank you so much.


End file.
